NOTA Votes in West Bengal Lok Sabha Elections Impact Results

In the recent West Bengal Lok Sabha elections, 0.87 per cent of voters chose the NOTA option. This amounted to 5,22,724 votes across 42 constituencies, influencing the results in some areas. Political scientist Maidul Islam suggested this could be due to voter dissatisfaction or confusion, particularly among first-time or elderly voters.

In a revealing turnout, 0.87 per cent of voters in the West Bengal Lok Sabha elections opted for the 'None of the Above' (NOTA) choice, according to the Election Commission of India (ECI). This equates to a significant number of 5,22,724 votes across 42 Lok Sabha constituencies.

Particularly noteworthy, four constituencies — Bankura, Alipurduar, Bardhaman-Durgapur, and Bolpur — each registered over 20,000 NOTA votes. Bankura led the tally with 26,209 NOTA votes, followed by Bolpur (21,722), Bardhaman-Durgapur (21,595), and Alipurduar (21,298).

Prominent victories were recorded despite the NOTA influence. Trinamool Congress' Arup Chakraborty defeated BJP's Subhas Sarkar by 32,778 votes, while in Bardhaman-Durgapur, former cricketer Kirti Azad triumphed over BJP's Dilip Ghosh by 1,37,981 votes. Political scientist Maidul Islam attributed the high NOTA count to voter dissatisfaction and lack of familiarity with candidates or voting procedures.

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