Over 5.55 lakh Tamil Nadu voters opt for NOTA

Chennai:  Over 5.55 lakh Tamil Nadu voters were not happy with the candidates in the field and opted for "None of the Above" (NOTA) option, according to Election Commission of India. According to the poll body, 555,383 voters in Tamil Nadu pressed the NOTA button on the electronic voting machines (EVMs) during the May 16 polls. A total of 2,873 voters in the high profile Dr. Radhakrishnan Nagar constituency, where Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa was a contestant, preferred NOTA. In Thiruvavur, from where DMK president M Karunanidhi got elected, 2,177 voters preferred NOTA. In Kolathur seat, from where DMK's M.K. Stalin got elected, 3,554 voters preferred NOTA. Vote share of NOTA is higher than the vote share of parties like Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India- Marxist (CPI-M), Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) among others. Tamil Nadu, with over 5.79 crore registered voters, had recorded 74.26 percent polling in the assembly polls held on May 16.