Pune: Disillusioned voters may opt for None of the Above (Nota) in the upcoming elections, but other than statistics, it will not have any effect on the Lok Sabha polls.Election rules will have to be amended by the government in case of parliamentary elections for re-elections if Nota garners more votes than the winning candidates.Last year, the Maharashtra State Election Commission brought about an amendment and rules that should Nota get the maximum number of votes in an election, then none of the contesting candidates will be declared as elected and fresh elections would be held.Senior officials from ECI said a proposal moved for amendment for parliamentary polls, has not been finalized. “To ensure actual Nota where fresh election has to be sought, rule 64 of the conduct of election rules will have to be amended by the law ministry. The matter is pending,’’ the officals said.Political observers said there would be no marked change even if people opt for Nota. “While dissent against the candidates can be expressed, there can be no re-election,’’ an official from the chief electoral office from the state government said.For the local body polls, Nota, according to the state election officials, is treated as a “fictional electoral candidate” and, if in any election, all the contesting candidates individually receive lesser votes than the fictional electoral candidate, NOTA is declared as elected and fresh elections should be held.Before Nota, voters could cast a ‘negative vote’ on a separate ballot but the Supreme Court declared the practice unconstitutional as it required voters to divulge their identities.According to studies, Nota mattered in 23 seats in 2014 elections where the votes were more than the winning margin.Studies showed that Congress finished runner-up in 11 seats and BJP in four. At three each, Karnataka and Odisha had the most such seats.In Ladakh, where the winning margin was 36 votes, the 1,207 Nota votes could have easily swung the result.In Odisha’s Nabarangpur, Nota got 42,000 more votes than the winning margin, the highest difference in 2014.Even so, Nota has no teeth, national coordinator Anil Verma from the Association of Democratic Reforms said.“There should have been amendments, but it has not happened,’’ he said, adding that if in any constituency the votes polled for Nota are higher, then no candidate should be declared as elected and a fresh election should be conducted in which none of the earlier candidates should be allowed to contest.

Stay updated with all the Pune Latest News headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.