THANE: The
2019 state elections
saw the upscale Thane and Owala-Majiwada
assembly constituencies
register the highest volume of
NOTA votes
among the six assembly segments that form the
Thane Lok Sabha constituency
.
The Thane Lok Sabha constituency comprises Airoli, Belapur, Thane, Owala-Majiwada, Mira-Bhayender, and Kopri-Panchpakhadi assembly constituencies.
The last is represented by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
Experts said the 2019 statistics could be crucial for
political parties
and their strategists to get an approximate idea of the voting trends, as it was the year when the last major elections were held in the region and state before the political power shift in the state.
As per 2019 state assembly records, the Thane and
Owala-Majiwada
assembly constituencies, currently represented by the BJP and Shiv Sena respectively, recorded 3.1% NOTA votes each in October 2019. This was a spike from the 1.9% and 1.8% respectively from the NOTA in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections held in May that year. Interestingly, the Mira-Bhayender assembly constituency saw a drop in NOTA vote share from 1.7% to 1.2% in the same period.
Among the 18 constituencies in the district, Ulhasnagar, Ambernath, and Kalyan rural reported the highest NOTA percentage during the 2019 polls, while Bhiwandi east saw the lowest NOTA ratio.
Experts said that while the reason for pressing the NOTA button could vary, some of the major reasons could be general dissatisfaction with the choice of candidates presented and overall disagreement with the policies of the candidate or party, including their recent past performance in the region.
“Overall, NOTA can be seen as a reflection of citizens’ anger against the respective political parties and candidates who remain largely disconnected from their voter base. Also, several local issues and failed promises regarding development made by the parties in the past could also influence voters,” says citizen activist Nitin Deshpande from Thane.
With the recent concern shared by former Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan over the possibility of rising NOTA votes, activists say it is high time that political parties start to ensure a reduction in voters opting for NOTA. Accordingly, keeping in mind that the state polls were the last major polls held in the region, political parties are also not leaving any stone unturned to discourage the NOTA option and attract these votes to increase their respective winning margin.
Vilas Joshi, Maharashtra election coordinator for Shiv Sena, said the parameters for parliament and assembly elections are different. “Voters look at national issues like Ram temple construction, Article 370, among others, including who is the PM candidate, while voting during Lok Sabha polls, while regional and local issues find importance during assembly or civic polls. We are nonetheless working hard to reach out to our voters and encourage them to vote,” he said.
The police are now investigating the matter following the registration of the case.
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