The introduction of the NOTA (none of the above) option in the coming polls that allows voters to reject all the candidates in fray has seemingly left the first-time voters less enthusiastic. This is the feedback Joint Collector T. Baburao Naidu received from students of the Swarna Andhra Engineering College at an awareness programme on ethical voting here on Wednesday.
When the Joint Collector exhorted the students not to vote the candidates with poor track records by pressing the ‘NOTA’ button in the EVM, a student sought to know what was the use of the provision even when the votes polled under this category were in excess of those polled by all the candidates in fray were treated as invalid. He sought to declare the election null and void if it registered higher number of votes under the NOTA than that was polled in favour of the candidates.
A section of students, during the interaction with the Joint Collector, highlighted the need for the political parties to field candidates with a clean track record. The Joint Collector administered an oath to the students to cast their vote in the coming elections, without yielding to money, liquor and freebies.
‘Vote for a better future’Carrying banners and placards highlighting the importance of voting rights, the students took out a rally and formed a human chain to convey the message to the people. They also distributed pamphlets on ethical voting to the passengers of RTC buses.
