No to NOTA? Fewer takers for last button, trend suggests further dip

'Voters in reserved constituencies, tribal areas exercise NOTA option to a greater extent than the regular constituencies'

The share of voters pressing the NOTA button has been on a decline in general elections since a Supreme Court order sealed a spot for it on electronic voting machines across India in 2013.

The portion of ‘none of the above’ or NOTA dropped from 1.08 per cent in 2014 general election to 1.06 per cent in 2019 polls.

And, according to an analysis of data from the Election Commission and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), the assembly elections too point towards a similar trend after 2019.

The share of NOTA in the total votes polled remained over 1 per