Nationwide, NOTA or ‘None of the above’ got more votes than various established parties. NOTA received nearly 6 million votes across India, which is 1.1 per cent of all votes cast. In terms of vote share, NOTA led parties such as Janata Dal (United), Shiromani Akali Dal, Communist Party of India, Janata Dal (Secular), etc. It stood 18th among 39 parties with more than 0.1 per cent vote share in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
NOTA was first introduced in the assembly elections held in five states in December, 2013. It was brought in after a Supreme Court ruling of September, 2013. The NOTA button enables an elector the option to register their vote to none of the candidates on the Electronic Voting Machine. But it is largely a symbolic act. Regardless of the number of votes cast for NOTA, the candidate with the most votes is the winner. Nearly two percent people had voted NOTA in the assembly elections.
