In Indore, Madhya Pradesh, the Congress party's call for voters to choose the 'None of the Above' (NOTA) option has resulted in over 1.7 lakh votes in the Lok Sabha seat, surpassing the previous NOTA record set in Gopalganj, Bihar. NOTA allows voters to reject all candidates in a constituency. During the 2019 elections, the Gopalganj Lok Sabha constituency in Bihar registered the highest NOTA votes with 51,660, approximately 5% of the total votes cast in the area.
As of the latest data from the Election Commission's website, NOTA has received 1,72,798 votes in Indore, ranking second highest following BJP candidate Shankar Lalwani who secured 9,90,698 votes. All 13 other candidates in Indore have garnered fewer votes than NOTA. Lalwani led by a significant margin of 9,48,603 votes over his closest BSP competitor Sanjay Solanki.
In preparation for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress candidate for Indore, Akshay Kanti Bam, withdrew his nomination on April 29 and later joined the BJP. Subsequently, the Congress urged voters in Indore to select NOTA on the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) to send a message to the BJP. The NOTA option was introduced on EVMs in September 2013 following a Supreme Court ruling.
In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Nilgiris in Tamil Nadu recorded 46,559 NOTA votes, accounting for about 5% of the total votes cast in the constituency. For the first time in the 72-year history of the Indore Lok Sabha seat, Congress has not been a contender. The voting in Indore occurred on May 13, with 61.75% of the 25.27 lakh eligible voters participating, as per EC data.
