In the first national elections since the NOTA option was introduced in voting machines, as many as 2,10,563 voters across the State exercised the right to reject all candidates in the fray.
Decisive In the Kannur and Vadakara Lok Sabha constituencies, NOTA votes became a decisive factor in the electoral outcome by exceeding the winning margin.
As many as 7,026 NOTA votes were cast in Kannur where P.K. Sreemathy of the CPI(M) won by a margin of 6,566 votes over K. Sudhakaran of the Congress in a close match.
In the Vadakara constituency where Union Minister Mullappally Ramachandran prevailed over A.M. Shamseer of the CPI(M), the number of NOTA votes was 6,107, almost twice the winning margin of 3,306.
Highest number The highest number of NOTA votes, 21,829, was polled in the Malappuram Lok Sabha constituency where Union Minister E. Ahamed of the IUML won by the highest margin of 1,94,739.
Alathur recorded 21,417 NOTA votes and Pathanamathitta, 16,538. The other constituencies that registered five figure NOTA votes include Kottayam (14,024), Idukki (12,338), Alappuzha (11,338), Palakkad (11,291), Wayanad (10,735), Chalakudy (10,552), and Thrissur (10,050).
The lowest number of NOTA votes was polled in the Thiruvananthapuram constituency which witnessed a tough three- cornered electoral contest between Union Minister Shashi Tharoor, O.Rajagopal of the BJP and Bennet Abraham of the Communist Party of India.
