Nota a logical option to counter ‘fake’ mandate: Reds

In the forests of Bihar-Jharkhand border: In the appeal for complete poll boycott, Maoists have given a breather to voters by allowing them to use the NOTA option, in case central para military forces force them to cast their votes.
Spokesperson for the Bihar-Jharkhand Special Area Committee (BJSAC), the highest decision-making body of CPI (Maoists) in the state, Gopal ji told TOI though the Maoists are against electoral politics and its tools of collecting ‘fake’ mandate, they find some logic in the incorporation of NOTA button.
“In the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, we have seen that NOTA was used extensively in some pockets of Chhatisgarh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra despite the fact that NOTA votes are not going to make any difference to the elected people,” he said, criticizing the election machinery for not propagating the option among masses.
Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Maoists had issued an appeal for use of NOTA button but in secluded pockets without having a common stand on its use.
Asked as to why the Maoists have not been unanimous in their decision about use of NOTA, Gopalji said the election process, use of EVM and incorporation of buttons are all against the communist structure of real democracy.
“The bourgeoisie and imperialist political parties devise methods to suit their interests and NOTA too is one among them,” he said, underlining the fact that it was for this reason that the outcome of NOTA has been kept null and void.
He explained that electors in many parts of country, particularly those inhabited by poor, innocent and semi-literate tribal the para military forces coerce the villagers to cast vote even if they are unwilling.
“NOTA votes would give an indication that people are rejecting the candidates and also the system,” he argued.
Gopal ji said the government is also contemplating linking facilities with the people casting vote and in that case the claims of government of having free and fair elections would be exposed.