25 May,2019 07:45 AM IST | | Ranjeet Jadhav
A new trend has emerged this Lok Sabha election with more than 82,000 voters in the city opting for the 'None of the Above' (NOTA) option, as per data of the Election Commission of India (ECI). While in Maharashtra, Palghar seat saw the highest NOTA voting percentage, Mumbai North West topped the list in the city. Compared to the 2014 figure of 4.6 lakh NOTA votes in the state, this year 4.8 lakh voters chose not to vote in favour of any party.
According to data on the ECI website, the Palghar Lok Sabha seat recorded 29,479 NOTA votes, which is 2.45 per cent of the total votes in the constituency. Shiv Sena candidate Rajendra Gavit won the seat by defeating Baliram Jadhav of Bahujan Vikas Aaghadi. Of the total votes polled in the constituency (1,201,941), Gavit got 580,479 (48.3%) while Jadhav bagged 491,596 (40.9%).
The second highest number of NOTA votes - 24,599, which is 2.15 per cent of the total votes (1,142,698) polled in the constituency - was recorded at the Gadchiroli-Chimur seat. Ashok Nete of BJP won this seat against Dr Namdeo Usendi of the Congress. Nete bagged 519,968 (45.5 per cent) votes while Usendi got 442,442 (38.72 per cent).
Mumbai North West recorded the third highest NOTA polling percentage in the state, while it was the highest in the city. The constituency received 18,225 NOTA votes, which is 1.94 per cent of the total votes (941,497) polled here.
Gajanan Kirtikar of Shiv Sena won this seat by defeating Sanjay Nirupam of the Congress. While Kirtikar received 570,063 (60.55 per cent) votes, Nirupam got 309,735 (32.9 per cent) of the total.
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Following in the footsteps of the Mumbai North West constituency, the city's South Lok Sabha seat recorded the second highest NOTA votes - 15,115, which is 1.89 per cent of the total 801,611 votes polled in the constituency.
Shiv Sena candidate Arvind Sawant, who got 421,937 (52.64 per cent) votes, defeated Congress candidate Milind Deora, who bagged 321,870 (40.15 per cent) votes.
The third highest number of NOTA votes in the city was recorded in the Mumbai South Central constituency - 13,834, which is 1.74 per cent of the total 797,250 votes polled. Here Rahul Shewale of Shiv Sena defeated Eknath Gaikwad of the Congress.
While Shewale got 424,913 (53.3 per cent) votes, Gaikwad bagged 272,774 (34.21 per cent). Mumbai North East saw the fourth highest number of NOTA votes - 12,466, which is 1.37 per cent of the total votes polled. Manoj Kotak of BJP defeated NCP candidate Sanjay Dina Patil in this constituency.
Mumbai North saw the fifth highest number of NOTA votes - 11,966, which is 1.21 per cent of the total. Gopal Shetty of the BJP defeated Congress Candidate Urmila Matondkar here.
Mumbai North Central recorded the least number of NOTA votes - 10,669, which is 1.18 per cent of the total votes polled in the constituency. Poonam Mahajan of the BJP won against Congress' Priya Dutt here.
Palghar: 29,479 votes (2.45% of total)
Gadchiroli-Chimur: 24,599 (2.15% of total)
Mumbai North West: 18,225 (1.94% of total)
Mumbai South: 15,115 (1.89% of total)
Mumbai South Central: 13,834 (1.74% of total)
Mumbai North East: 12,466 (1.37% of total)
Mumbai North: 11,966 (1.21% of total)
Mumbai North Central: 10,669 (1.18% of total)
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