Over 12K opt for NOTA in district

Avneet Kaur
Jalandhar, May 23

Even as the 10.18 lakh voters for the Jalandhar Parliamentary seat had an option to choose from any of the 19 candidates, as many as 12,324 persons preferred choosing none of the above (NOTA) option, which was the 20th option on the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM). However, in the previous Lok Sabha Elections in 2014, NOTA got 5,435 votes.

Perhaps, having struggled to find a leader or political party who can bring in stability, better working opportunities and take the country to the next level of success, these residents find NOTA a worthy option. The maximum rejection for a political candidate came from Jalandhar Cantt and Jalandhar Central seats where as many as 1,779 and 1,721 voters, respectively, pressed the NOTA option. The minimum rejection came from Adampur rural where 1,013 persons used it.

While Jalandhar West had 1,598 such voters, Jalandhar North 1,540, Phillaur 1,245, Nakodar 1,138, Shahkot 1,174 and Kartarpur had 1,039.

As the number of voters who chose NOTA has got doubled this time in the district, as per Jagteshwar (19), a BCom I student, the possible reason for this trend was that people were not happy with the way political leaders are working.

He said NOTA was being used as an instrument of lodging a protest against many things that they believe were problematic with the political system of the country or the kind of candidates being fielded by political parties.

A few of the voters who pressed NOTA from Jalandhar Cantt shared that the Cantonments of Jalandhar and Ferozepur were the only ones in the state where octroi was still being levied. Though several politicians have said they would get it abolished to woo voters ahead of elections, but after they win, they forget their promise.

Besides, no solutions to other local issues such as villages turning into dump and dark streets were other reasons that forced people to choose NOTA at Jalandhar Cantt.

Balminder Kaur, a housewife, who voted for NOTA, said she did not find any candidate fit for the job.

“PM Narendra Modi’s five-year tenure was more of words rather than action. Even the PM asked people to vote on the name of the Army and martyrs who died in the Pulwama attack. Moreover, due to demonetisation and the GST various small-scale businesses suffered a huge loss. Hence, I did not want to vote for the BJP. However, as far as Rahul Gandhi is concerned, I don’t find him a strong candidate for the PM’s post,” she said.

Another resident, Jogendra Singh (65), who chose NOTA, said: “My granddaughter, who studies in Class XII, asked me to vote for NOTA.”

He said she wants development in the country, job opportunities and a secure environment. However, no politician or party raised any such issue. Hence, four members of my family voted for NOTA.