The Silent Power of NOTA: How Voter Rejection Influenced Bihar's 2025 Electoral Outcomes

The NOTA option was introduced in Indian elections in 2013 following a landmark Supreme Court ruling

New Delhi:

Bihar has concluded its assembly elections with the NDA claiming a decisive victory, securing 202 seats. The BJP has emerged as the top performer in this electoral cycle. However, beyond the major victories, another noteworthy pattern has quietly developed—the increasing significance of NOTA (None of the Above) votes.

Understanding NOTA and Its Significance

NOTA was implemented in India's electoral system in 2013 after a groundbreaking Supreme Court judgment in the PUCL vs Union of India case. The Court instructed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to incorporate a NOTA option on Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and ballot papers, enabling voters to reject all candidates while preserving ballot secrecy.

NOTA's Role in Bihar: Minor Percentage, Significant Influence

ECI data reveals that 9.1 lakh votes were cast for NOTA in the 2025 Bihar assembly elections, representing 1.81 percent of the total vote share. This occurred despite Bihar recording its highest-ever voter participation rate of 66.91 percent.

Though the increase is slight compared to the 1.7 percent recorded in 2020, it remains below the 2.5 percent seen in 2015, when NOTA first appeared on Bihar's ballots.

NOTA's presence extends beyond state elections. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Bihar registered 5.8 lakh NOTA votes (1.6 percent), which increased to 2 percent in 2019 and further to 2.1 percent in 2024, with nearly 9 lakh voters selecting NOTA.

Victory Margins vs NOTA: A Remarkable Pattern

In the 2025 assembly elections, NOTA votes exceeded winning margins in 27 constituencies, indicating voter dissatisfaction. The most striking example was Sandesh, where the winning margin was merely 27 votes, while 4,160 votes went to NOTA—an extraordinary 15,307 percent difference, with JD(U) claiming the seat.

Additional Tight Contests

Ramgarh: Victory margin of just 30 votes versus more than 1,000 NOTA votes, with BSP winning the constituency.

Agiaon: BJP's victory margin of 95 votes compared to 3,600 NOTA votes.

Nabinagar and Dhaka: Similar patterns with NOTA votes substantially exceeding victory margins.

NOTA Compared to Political Parties

Notably, NOTA's vote share nearly matched Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM, which secured 1.85 percent, while NOTA registered 1.81 percent. Several other parties, including the Bahujan Samaj Party and Sharad Pawar's NCP, recorded even lower percentages.

Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party, which contested 238 seats, received fewer votes than NOTA in 68 constituencies, approximately 28.6 percent of the total. In more than three out of ten seats, NOTA garnered more votes than JSP.

This election demonstrates that while NOTA may not determine winners, it has evolved beyond a mere symbolic option. In numerous constituencies, its numbers exceeded the margin of victory, establishing it as a quiet yet important factor in Bihar's electoral landscape.