Go for NOTA, voters in Chanda urged

Nagpur: A group of schoolteachers and parents in Chandrapur are urging people to use NOTA (none of the above) option in elections next month because of ‘unfulfilled’ promises related to education field.
The group, that is connecting through social media and public events, claims to have support of over a thousand and the number is increasing.

Vivek Ambekar, a teacher from Chandrapur and also member of Maharashtra Rajya Shikshak Parishad (MRSP), said people are disillusioned with successive governments. “For decades, we have seen that teachers have been taken lightly. Also, the problem goes up to school-level, some education policies are very anti-English medium that one fails to see the logic behind it. No grant is being given for new English medium schools even though their popularity is more than that of the vernacular ones,” said Ambekar, who clarified that his initiative is a personal one and is not affiliated to MRSP.

However, it is hard to believe that Ambekar is not tapping into the vast network of lakhs of MRSP members. “That contact is on a personal basis among members. But it is not on MRSP’s agenda to promote any kind of voting pattern,” said Ambekar.

He says their group has met a couple of times and word is being spread by each one of them to others. “Slowly people are becoming aware of the power they possess during elections. When political parties see NOTA votes in such a huge number, it will become clear to them the strength that teachers and parents have. I am sure that our demands will be taken seriously once the NOTA votes get counted,” said Ambekar.

The recently held state assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh have seen victory margins being less than that of NOTA votes.