Chandigarh: Nota share highest for joint secretary post

For the president’s post, out of 9,610 valid votes, NOTA secured 174 votes, accounting for 1.8% of the total. The figure was lower than last year, when NOTA secured 188 votes out of 9,613, or 2% of the votes.

The Panjab University Campus Students Council (PUCSC) elections concluded on Monday with major student leaders winning key posts, but a striking feature of this year’s polls was the sizeable number of votes cast under the “none of the above” (NOTA) option across all four positions.

The rise was more pronounced in the secretary’s race, where NOTA drew 581 votes out of 9,590, representing 6% of the votes. (HT File)

For the president’s post, out of 9,610 valid votes, NOTA secured 174 votes, accounting for 1.8% of the total. The figure was lower than last year, when NOTA secured 188 votes out of 9,613, or 2% of the votes.

In the contest for vice-president, NOTA polled 465 votes, or 4% of the 9,601 votes cast. This marked a significant increase from last year, when NOTA secured 335 votes out of 9,593, accounting for 3% of the total.

The rise was more pronounced in the secretary’s race, where NOTA drew 581 votes out of 9,590, representing 6% of the votes. Last year, the option had secured 464 votes out of 9,544, or 4%.

The highest NOTA share emerged in the joint secretary’s contest, where the option secured 938 votes out of 9,573, making up 9% of the total ballots. This was more than double last year’s 410 votes, which accounted for 4% of the 9,535 votes cast.

Despite having no such power, hundreds of students chose to turn up at the ballot box and exercise their franchise in favour of NOTA. The sharp rise in NOTA votes, particularly for the secretary and joint secretary posts, thus stood out as a significant feature of this year’s campus polls.