Gurgaon civic polls: 3,252 NOTA votes registered in MCG polls

The maximum number of NOTA votes were registered in Ward 32 —316 — which comprises a majority of the upscale localities of the city. The least number of NOTA votes registered in a single ward was 36, in Ward 25.

A total of 3,252 voters across 35 wards chose the None of the above (NOTA) option in the 2017 Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) elections held on Sunday, according to official data.

A total 3,12,402 votes were registered on Sunday, according to figures released by the election officials on Tuesday. (Sanjeev Verma/HT FILE PHOTO)

The maximum number of NOTA votes were registered in Ward 32 —316 — which comprises a majority of the upscale localities of the city. The least number of NOTA votes registered in a single ward was 36, in Ward 25.

This was the first time that NOTA could be exercised by a voter in the civic body elections.

A total 3,12,402 votes were registered on Sunday, according to figures released by the election officials on Tuesday.

In other urban areas — wards 33, 34, and 35 — 50, 82, and 70 NOTA votes, respectively, were registered.

The margin of victory between the winning candidate and runner-up in both these wards was significantly high — 2,984 in Ward 17 and 1,140 in Ward 4. Hence, the votes were largely inconsequential and did not affect the overall result.

By Sunday evening, election results of most wards were clear besides wards 4 and 19, where the margins were so close that they had to be recounted.

In Ward 4, Virender Raj Yadav of Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) bagged the seat over Parveen Yadav, an independent candidate. The margin of difference between the two was only 13 votes, the lowest between any of the winners and runner-ups. As per data, 46 NOTA votes were cast in this ward.

In Ward 19, Ashwani Sharma, the independent candidate emerged as a winner over BJP’s Pramod Kumar by 218 votes. It has been revealed that 106 NOTA votes were registered in this ward.

“I could not decide between voting for two candidates in my ward as I felt both equally deserved a vote. Ultimately, I exercised the NOTA option,” Sejal Kumar of DLF Phase-4 said.

NOTA was introduced in the country following a Supreme Court (SC) directive in 2013 and subsequently, it was used in the assembly elections in Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.