Bengal: 0.87 pc of voters opt for NOTA in LS polls

Kolkata, Jun 5 (PTI) Altogether 0.87 per cent of the voters of West Bengal pressed the 'none of the above' (NOTA) button in the just-concluded Lok Sabha election, the data released by the Election Commission of India (ECI) said.

A total of 5,22,724 voters in the 42 Lok Sabha constituencies opted for the NOTA, which played a significant role in determining the fates of a few candidates in Bengal, it revealed.

In Bengal, four parliamentary constituencies -- Bankura, Alipurduar, Bardhaman-Durgapur, and Bolpur -- each record more than 20,000 voters opting for the NOTA.

Bankura registered the highest of 26,209 NOTA votes while Bolpur (21,722), Bardhaman-Durgapur (21,595) and Alipurduar (21,298).

Trinamool Congress' Arup Chakraborty defeated BJP's sitting MP Dr Subhas Sarkar by 32,778 votes while party candidate former India cricketer Kirti Azad outsmarted BJP's senior leader Dilip Ghosh in Bardhaman-Durgapur seat by mammoth 1,37,981 votes.

A good number of 'NOTA' votes were recorded in the constituencies of Bishnupur (19,132), Arambagh (18,031), Purulia (17,929), Jalpaiguri (16,848), Jhargram (15,920), Coochbehar (15,563) and Asansol (15,510), the statistics added.

Asked whether this number of NOTA votes could have any significance, political scientist at the city-based "Centre for Studies in Social Sciences" Maidul Islam, said that there could be two reasons behind people going for that option.

"First, they could not accept the candidate nominated by the party. Secondly, they were first-time or elderly voters who were confused and had little knowledge about the EVMs," Islam told PTI.

In Bankura, there was dissent among the BJP workers against the candidate, which was reflected in the result, he said. PTI SCH NN