The impact of the decision of MLAs to exercise the NOTA (none-of-the-above) option in elections to the Rajya Sabha will be the same as that of an abstention.
Nor does it attract the anti-defection law, though it can be a sign that an MLA is disgruntled with his party leadership or official candidate.
In the Rajya Sabha polls, a winning candidate should get a required number of votes calculated through a formula. The total number of votes are divided by the number of seats going to the polls from the State, adding one vote to the number. To this whole, a value of one vote is again added.
The polls are held by means of a single, transferable vote, and the candidates reaching the requisite number are declared elected. “If a candidate from a party exercises the NOTA option, the total votes will go down,” said former Lok Sabha secretary general PDT Achary. This will bring down the number required to win.
NOTA option to stay in Rajya Sabha polls
This can benefit a candidate from another party, in case MLAs from that party vote for their official candidate, neither abstaining nor exercising the NOTA option.
Same results
However, Mr. Achary added that abstentions — an option even before NOTA — produce the same results by bringing down the total number of votes.
Political scientist Yogendra Yadav said the exercise of NOTA would be more a sign of an MLA being disgruntled with his party leadership or not supporting the official candidate. “It’s nothing more than transferring the logic of NOTA for an ordinary voter to MLAs.”