NOTA option to be made available to voters during urban local bodies’ polls in T.N.

Many other States such as Maharashtra and Odisha are already implementing None of the Above option in local body elections.

A view of the NOTA button on an Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) in Chennai. Nearly for nine years, the State Election Commission (SEC) had pressed the State government to introduce NOTA.  | Photo Credit: The Hindu Photo Library

The NOTA (none of the above) option will, hereafter, be a part of the electronic voting machines for urban local bodies (ULB) in Tamil Nadu.

This has been made possible by the State Municipal Administration and Water Supply (MAWS) department through a notification issued in April. This marks the State government fulfilling a long-standing demand of activists for the introduction of the NOTA option in polls to the ULBs.

The notification, dealing with rules for the ULBs, refers to NOTA specifically on the proforma ballot paper, as indicated in form 15.  The option has been mentioned again in forms 26 and 27 which pertain to the declaration of result.

Nearly for nine years, the State Election Commission (SEC) had pressed the State government to introduce NOTA. Many other States such as Maharashtra and Odisha are already implementing it.

As in the past, the right of electors not to vote has been retained through Rule 88.  A senior official of the SEC says the government has to take a call on extending the option to rural local bodies too.

As per the rules, if a municipal corporation has a population of over 80 lakh, it can have 230 wards, which will be the highest for any ULB. In a municipality, the highest number of wards is 52 and in a town panchayat, 21.