Are than 32 lakh voters of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation will not be able to exercise the option None Of The Above (NOTA) when they will enter polling booths on Saturday to exercise their franchise.

The electronic voting machines used by the West Bengal State Election Commission (WBSEC) for the polls to the city civic body does not have that option and the electors will be left with the little choice but of pressing the button in favour of any of the candidates contesting.

Seeking to know the reasons for absence of the NOTA option, representatives from Association for Protection of Democratic Rights (APDR) met State Election Commissioner S R Upadhyay during the day.

Old EVMs

“The State Election Commissioner (SEC) told us that the existing EVMs do not have that option and a change in the existing municipal laws is required to bring in this option,” Ranajit Sur, a member of the delegation said.

Mr. Sur said the SEC said that no other political party or group had raised the issue with him during the preparation for the polls.

“We demand that the WBSEC should ensure that NOTA option is available to the voters at the earliest,” he added.

Over 60 lakh None Of The Above (NOTA) votes were cast in the 16th Lok Sabha elections, the first time that this option was given.