NOTA

NOTA — None Of The Above — is a ballot option that lets a voter formally reject every candidate on offer, without having to pick one they don't support.

• Choosing NOTA doesn't change who wins — the candidate with the most actual votes still takes the seat — but it does get recorded and reported separately, as a visible signal of voter dissatisfaction.
• India added NOTA in 2013 following a Supreme Court directive, making it one of a relatively small number of countries that offer this option nationwide.
• A high NOTA count in a constituency can be read almost like a report card on the candidates fielded there, sometimes prompting parties to think harder about who they nominate next time.
• NOTA sits alongside the secret ballot as another way India's electoral system tries to give every voter's true preference — including "none of these" — somewhere to go.