07 June,2024 07:15 AM IST | Mumbai | Ranjeet Jadhav
The NOTA option was introduced in 2013. Representation Pic
In the recent Lok Sabha elections, several of the 48 seats in Maharashtra saw intensely competitive races, with many candidates winning or losing by slim margins. Notably, Maharashtra recorded around 4.36 lakh NOTA (none of the above) votes. The Raigad Lok Sabha constituency, where Sunil Tatkare from the NCP Ajit Pawar faction emerged victorious, recorded the highest number of NOTA votes at over 27,000. This was followed by Palghar, where the BJP won, and more than 23,000 NOTA votes were cast.
According to Elections Commission of India (ECI) data, a total of 4,36,822 NOTA votes were cast across the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra. In India, voters can select the option on electronic voting machines (EVMs) to indicate that they are not in favor of any of the candidates on the list. NOTA was created to give voters who feel no candidate is qualified enough a formal means of expressing their displeasure without withdrawing from the election.
Of the 48 Lok Sabha seats, Raigad recorded the highest NOTA votes (27,270). In Raigad, the fight was between NCP Ajit Pawar faction / Mahayuti candidate Sunil Tatkare and Shiv Sena UBT / MVA candidate Anant Geetee. The second highest number of NOTA votes (23,385) was cast in the Palghar Lok Sabha constituency where BJP / Mahayuti candidate Dr Hemant Savara won against Shiv Sena UBT / MVA candidate Bharti Kamdi.
The third highest NOTA votes (17,901) were cast in the Thane Lok Sabha constituency where Shiv Sena Eknath Shinde faction and Mahayuti candidate Naresh Mhaske won against Shiv Sena UBT / MVA candidate Rajan Vichare. The Lok Sabha constituencies which registered NOTA votes in the range of 15,000-20,000 include Thane(17,901), Maval (16,760), Gadchiroli Chimur (16,577) and Mumbai North West (15,161) where Ravindra Waikar, the Shinde Sena / Mahayuti candidate, won by a paper-thin margin of 48 votes against Shiv Sena UBT / MVA candidate Amol Kirtikar.
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The Lok Sabha constituencies which registered NOTA votes in the range of 10,000-15,000 include Nandurbar (14,123), Jalgaon (13,919), Mumbai South Central (13,423), Mumbai South (13,411), Mumbai North (13,346), Kalyan (11,686), Chandrapur (10,843) and Bhandara Gondia (10,268). Constituencies which registered NOTA votes in the range of 5,000-10,000 include Mumbai North Central (9,749), Shirur (9,661), Yavatmal Washim (9,391), Bhiwandi (9,347), Baramati (9,151), Dindori (8,246), Ramtek (7,827), Pune (7,460), Nashik (6,185), Sangli (6,565), Akola (5,783), Kolhapur (5,983), Aurangabad (5,773), Satara (5,522), Nagpur (5,474), Shirdi (5,380), Hatkanangle (5,103).
All other constituencies witnessed NOTA votes in the range of 1000-5000. The lowest NOTA votes - 2,087 - were cast in Beed where NCP-SP / MVA candidate Bajrang Sonwane defeated BJP / Mahayuti candidate Pankaja Munde by a thin margin of 6,553 votes. The second lowest number of NOTA votes (2,725) was cast in Solapur where Congress / MVA candidate Praniti Shinde defeated BJP / Mahayuti candidate Ram Satpute by a high margin of 74,197 votes.
