Over 1.5 lakh voters opt for NOTA in Punjab

More than 1.54 lakh voters exercised NOTA (None of the Above) option in Punjab where Congress registered an impressive victory by winning eight of the 13 Lok Sabha seats in the general election.

As many as 1,54,423 voters (1.12 per cent of total votes polled) pressed the NOTA option, as per election office data.

Among 13 Lok Sabha seats, it was Faridkot constituency where maximum number of voters rejected the candidates. A total of 19,246 voters in Faridkot went for NOTA, as per EC data available.

In Anandpur Sahib, 17,135 voters opted for NOTA option, while in Ferozepur the figure was 14,891.

On almost all the constituencies in Punjab, NOTA occupied the fifth spot, as per data available.

A total of 13,323 voters opted for NOTA in Bathinda, followed by 13,045 in Fatehgarh Sahib, 12,868 in Hoshiarpur, 12,324 in Jalandhar, 11,110 in Patiala, 10,538 in Ludhiana, 9,560 in Gurdaspur, 8,763 in Amritsar, 6,490 in Sangrur and 5,130 in Khadoor Sahib.

Interestingly, the percentage of NOTA votes was more than the vote percentage of some political parties like CPI and CPM in the state, the EC said.

As against 1.12 per cent of votes in favour of NOTA, the vote percentage of CPI and CPM was just 0.31 and 0.08 respectively.

The ruling Congress in Punjab romped home to an impressive victory, surprising both the SAD-BJP combine and Aam Aadmi Party which bagged four and one seat respectively.