State of the Union: Nota - A bad idea for indirect elections

On January 24, 2014 and subsequently again on January 27, the Election Commission issued an administrative direction that the “None of the Above” provision would be made applicable for elections to the Council of States also. Though the Supreme Court has refused to stay the use of Nota in the Gujarat Rajya Sabha elections, it has nonetheless agreed to examine the constitutional validity of the Election Commission’s administrative diktat. Further, Section 59 of the Representation of the People Act 1951 provides for the manner of election and reads as follows: Manner of voting at elections i) At every election where a poll is taken, votes shall be given by ballot in such manner as may be prescribed, The use of Nota in indirect elections is thus, in direct conflict with and militates against the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote envisaged by the Constitution, the Act and the Rules. It is fairly evident therefore, that the system of Nota makes the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote meaningless, cannot be made applicable in Rajya Sabha elections. In view of the categorical observations of the court in the Kuldip Nayar case rendered in the context of Rajya Sabha elections, no direction ought to have been given by the commission to introduce Nota, which has the effect of not only upsetting and destroying the nature of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote but also will have the effect of breaching party discipline by virtually amending the 10th Schedule of the Constitution of India through an administrative order thereby diminishing the importance of political parties which the court has held to be a part of the basic feature of the Constitution.