At over 1.8 lakh votes, Indore registers the highest NOTA count ever

While the BJP is leading in all the 29 Lok Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh as per the trends coming out of the Election Commission of India (ECI) data on 4 June, Tuesday, an interesting phenomenon is being observed in Indore—1,82,766 voters opted for the NOTA (None of the Above) option (till 1.10 p.m.), setting a new record.

While the BJP's Shankar Lalwani has taken a decisive lead of over 8 lakh votes in Indore, the second-highest votes so far counted have been for NOTA.

NOTA, or the option to express one’s displeasure with every candidate in the fray, was introduced in Indian elections in 2013.

It should be mentioned here that after the Congress candidate from Indore, Akshay Kanti Bam, withdrew his nomination at the last minute, allowing a virtual walkover to the BJP.

The grand old party had then carried out a campaign urging the voters to press the NOTA button on polling day.

Not only the Congress, but several BJP leaders also believed that having no candidate from the opposition was setting a wrong precedent.

However, across Madhya Pradesh, the BJP is upbeat as their candidates are in the lead in all the 29 seats in the state, including in Chhindwara, the only constituency it lost to the Congress in 2019.