MP polls: NOTA got more votes than victory margin in 22 seats

Votes cast in favour of NOTA (none of the above) option were more than the margin of victory in 22 assembly constituencies in Madhya Pradesh, the Election Commission data shows.

NOTA even 'outperformed' some of the parties such as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Samajwadi Party (SP), getting more votes across the state than them.

As many as 5,42,295 voters pressed the NOTA button on Electronic Voting Machines, which was 1.4 per cent of the total number of votes cast.

But the number is less than that in the 2013 polls when 6.43 lakh (1.9 per cent) voters rejected all candidates.

In 22 seats this time, NOTA tally was greater than the victory margin. Twelve of these seats were won by the Congress, nine by the BJP and one by an independent candidate.

Four BJP ministers lost in such constituencies.

In Damoh, Finance Minister Jayant Malaiya lost to his Congress rival by a margin of 798 votes, while NOTA got 1,299 votes. Archana Chitnis lost in Burhanpur to an independent candidate by 5,120 votes while 5,726 votes went to NOTA.

Ministers Sharad Jain (Jabalpur North) and Narayan Singh Kushwaha (Gwalior East) met the same fate. Jain lost by 578 votes while NOTA got 1,209 votes. Kushwaha lost by 121 votes while NOTA polled 1,550 votes.

In eight other seats, BJP lost by a margin less than NOTA votes: Jobat (NOTA 5,139, victory margin 2,056), Suwasara (NOTA 2,976, victory margin 350), Rajpur (NOTA 3,358, victory margin 932), Rajnagar (NOTA 2,485, victory margin 732), Gunnor (NOTA 3,734, victory margin 1,984), Biora (NOTA 1,481, victory margin 826), Mandhata (NOTA 1,575, victory margin 1,236) and Petlawad (NOTA 5,148, victory margin 5,000).

In nine constituencies Congress candidates lost by a margin less than NOTA votes to BJP rivals: Timarni (NOTA 4,084, victory margin 2,213), Indore-5 (NOTA 2,786, victory margin 1,133), Chandla (NOTA 2,695, victory margin 1,177), Bandhavgarh (NOTA 5,037, victory margin 3,903), Nagod (NOTA 2,301, victory margin 1,234), Jaora (NOTA 1,510, victory margin 511), Kolaras (NOTA 1,674, victory margin 720), Bina (NOTA 1,528, victory margin 632) and Garoth (NOTA 2,474, victory margin 2,108).