NOTA got the highest ever 1.8 lakh votes in Indore

While the BJP is leading in all 29 Lok Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh, as per trends collated from the Election Commission of India (ECI) data on Tuesday, June 4, an interesting development was witnessed in Indore – 1,82,766 voters opted for the NOTA (none of the above) option (till 1.10 pm), setting a new record.

In Indore, BJP’s Shankar Lalwani has taken a decisive lead of over 8 lakh votes, while NOTA has got the second highest number of votes counted so far.

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

It is worth mentioning here that Congress candidate from Indore, Akshay Kanti Bam, withdrew his nomination at the last moment, almost giving a win to the BJP.

After this, the country’s oldest party launched a campaign and urged voters to press the NOTA button on the day of voting.

Not just the Congress, many BJP leaders also felt that not having any candidate from the opposition was setting a wrong precedent.

However, the BJP is upbeat in Madhya Pradesh as its candidates are leading in all 29 seats in the state, including Chhindwara, the only constituency where the BJP lost to the Congress in 2019.