More NOTAs cast in reserved seats
Is the None Of The Above option in Indian elections being used to express dissatisfaction against the political class or against politicians of a specific class? The Hindu’s analysis of data from the five states that first voted with a NOTA option in their December 2013 assembly elections – Delhi, Mizoram, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan – shows that constituencies reserved for tribals are over-represented among the seats that saw the most NOTA votes. Sources in two states have told The Hindu that one explanation could be that upper castes in reserved constituencies are choosing to exercise the NOTA option so as not to have to vote for a tribal or dalit, as they were forced to before the option came in. After the assembly election, a BJP spokesperson in Chhattisgarh told The Hindu that OBCs in some tribal constituencies voted NOTA to make the BJP, which they believed was only trying to woo tribals, realise their importance. “The leader of the community told me that everyone was pampering tribals and so they had voted NOTA rather than vote for a tribal,” the DM said, requesting anonymity.
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