Votes cast in favour of NOTA (none of the above) option were more than the margin of victory in 22 assembly constituencies in Madhya Pradesh, the Election Commission data shows. NOTA even `outperformed' some of the parties such as the Aam Aadmi Party and Samajwadi Party, getting more votes across the state than them.


As many as 5,42,295 voters pressed the NOTA button on Electronic Voting Machines, which was 1.4 per cent of the total number of votes cast. But the number is less than that in the 2013 polls when 6.43 lakh (1.9 per cent) voters rejected all candidates.


In 22 seats this time, NOTA tally was greater than the victory margin. Twelve of these seats were won by the Congress, nine by the BJP and one by an independent candidate. Four BJP ministers lost in such constituencies.


In Damoh, Finance Minister Jayant Malaiya lost to his Congress rival by a margin of 798 votes, while NOTA got 1,299 votes. Archana Chitnis lost in Burhanpur to an independent candidate by 5,120 votes while 5,726 votes went to NOTA. -- PTI