Contestants feared a lot about the impact of None of the Above (NOTA) option in the EVMs introduced for the voters during the 2014 General Elections to the Lok Sabha and State Assembly but going by the number of voters who have chosen NOTA the impact is not much.
NOTA is option given to the voter, and the order to allot a button for it on the EVMs came before the polling phase began in the nine-phase elections, to express his or her feeling that none of the contestants is worth to have his or her support. But the bitter and close fight between the Telugu Desam, which has BJP as its ally, and the YSR Congress and the need to elect a leader who can lead the residual Andhra Pradesh from June, might be a factor for the voters to mostly chose one or the other. In the 15 Assembly segments the number of voters who have chosen NOTA ranged from 624 in Elamanchili segment where 1.58 lakhs have voted to 2,468 at Bheemli where the voter turnout was 2.11 lakhs. A total of 21,147 have decided on NOTA in the 15 Assembly segments.
Number of voters, who pressed the NOTA button, crossed the 1000 mark in all segments falling under Visakhapatnam Lok Sabha constituency and it was below 1000 in rural segments coming under Anakapalle parliamentary constituency. Number of votes polled in all these segments is around 1.60 lakhs on an average.
However, there are more voters among Girijans who felt contestants in the two Assembly segments of Araku Valley and Paderu and the Lok Sabha constituency of Araku who do not deserve their vote. As many as 4,933 out of 1.50 lakh voters in Araku Valley segment and 2,828 out of 1.27 lakh voters in Paderu segment opted NOTA.
In Visakhapatnam Lok Sabha constituency 7,329 out of 11.6 lakh voters opted for NOTA and 8,576 out of 11.4 lakh voters in Anakapalle Lok Sabha constituency. In the Araku Lok Sabha constituency, which is spread over four districts, the total number of NOTA voters was higher, 16,532 of the 9.01 lakh votes polled.
Close fightThe close fight between TDP-BJP and YSRC pushed the parties like CPI(M), CPI and BSP and the new entrants like AAP and Lok Satta to the wayside. Lok Satta was also a factor during 2009 elections for the TD finishing behind the Congress. This time the threat from Lok Satta or the fledgling AAP was not foreseen due to the changed political situation and the people's anger towards the Congress and their decision give it a thrashing and to decide on a party to do so.
NOTA might not have been preferred in large numbers but many independents and most of the candidates of parties like Lok Satta, Jai Samaikyandhra party, AAP, Pyramid Party, Christian Secular party, etc., have the mortification of receiving lesser number of votes than NOTA.
Candidates of national parties Congress, CPI and CPI(M) candidates all over the district, both for Assembly and Lok Sabha have lost their deposits but consolation for them is that they are above the NOTA mark and not regarded as candidates not deserving support.
BSP is the other party which received more votes than those who opted for NOTA button, except former MLA Lake Raja Rao at Araku Valley. He fell short of NOTA tally by a few hundred votes.
Few other candidates - M. Anil Kumar of Lok Satta in Visakha East, G.V.VS.K. Rao (JSP, Visakha North), Balla Raman (Lok Satta, Visakha West), Jampana Sridevi (Lok Satta, Gajuwaka), J.R.P. Naidu (JSP, Chodavaram), G. Nandagopal (JSP, Anakapalle), V. Nookaraju (Lok Satta, Anakapalle), K. Jyothi (Pyramid Party, Elamanchili) , JSP’s Boni Tata Rao (JSP, Payakaraopet), G. Srinivasa Naidu (JSP, Narsipatnam), and K. Balu Dora (independent, Araku Lok Sabha constituency) received more votes than NOTA option.
