Delhi elections: Highest NOTA votes in Matiala, lowest in Matia Mahal

The highest number of votes in the None of the Above (NOTA) category was polled in Matiala, with six of the nine candidates in the constituency getting lesser than it in the tally, according to data shared by the Election Commission on its website. Over 43,000 votes in the just-concluded Delhi Assembly polls were cast in the NOTA category, constituting about 0.5 per cent of total votes polled.

In Matiala, the NOTA votes stood at 1,602, the highest under that category across the total 70 constituencies, while the lowest number of NOTA votes were polled in Matia Mahal -- 216. The election, largely seen as a battle between the AAP and the BJP, was held on Saturday and fought by 672 candidates -- 593 men and 79 women.

The final voter turnout was 62.59 per cent, five per cent less than 2015. The votes polled under NOTA category was -- 43,108 -- as per the figures released by the EC on its website.

In a near-repeat performance of 2015, the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party on Tuesday retained power with a stunning victory, winning 62 of the 70 assembly seats and leaving the BJP with just eight seats. The AAP won with a voting percentage of 53.57, while the BJP got eight seats with vote share of 38.51 per cent.

The Congress drew a blank for the second successive assembly elections in Delhi. In Matiala, AAP's Gulab Singh amassed 1,39,010 followed by BJP's Rajesh Gahlot with 1,10,935 and Congress's Sumesh Shokeen with 7317 votes.

Rest all six candidates in the constituencies got lesser votes than the NOTA count. In the 2015 Delhi elections, the NOTA vote percentage had stood at 0.4 per cent of the total votes cast. The AAP had swept the polls with 67 seats.

After the Supreme Court order in September 2013, the EC added NOTA button on the electronic voting machines as the last option on the voting panel.

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