1% voters opted for NOTA in Faridabad, Bhiwani civic body polls

CHANDIGARH: Introduced for the first time in civic body polls in the state, NOTA (none of the above) option was exercised by 1% of the total voters during Bhiwani and Faridabad civic bodies’ elections held on January 8.
Polling percentage, however, remained high in Bhiwani at 74.1%. In 31 wards, where 219 candidates were in the fray, 461 voters opted for NOTA out of 89,980 votes polled.The maximum use of NOTA was reported in Wards 25 and 19 where 40 and 34 voters, respectively, exercised the option. Nobody pressed NOTA in Ward 14.
In Faridabad municipal corporation polls, 5,189 voters pressed the NOTA button in 40 wards from where 334 candidates contested. There were 10,28,699 voters, including 5,74,257 men and 4,54,433 women.
A young voter, who used NOTA option in the election, said that he chose to vote for nobody as there was no deserving candidate in his ward in the civic body poll. “Earlier, I was forced to choose one of the candidates despite my disapproval for them, but now I felt relieved by voting for none,” he said.
An administrative officer in Bhiwani said that usage of NOTA option was a good beginning for a thriving democracy as it brings forth a real picture of candidates in poll fray irrespective of their victory or defeat.
Lauding the response generated by NOTA in the civic body polls at Bhiwani and Faridabad, state election commissioner (SEC) Dalip Singh said they were happy that electors chose the option, made available for the first time in Haryana.
He said that SEC had implemented the NOTA option after studying the trend in the country and in that comparison it has been received well.
He also said that the photograph of candidates on ballot papers too give more impetus to transparency in the polls.