Shimla: Over 33,000 none of the above (NOTA) votes were polled in Himachal Pradesh, where the ruling BJP swept the Lok Sabha elections winning all four seats in the state.
The saffron party won Mandi, Shimla, Hamirpur, and Kangra with record margins of about four lakh votes in each of the constituencies.
As many as 33,008 voters chose the NOTA option. In this way, 0.87 per cent voters opted for NOTA out of the total 38,01, 793 votes polled in the state on May 19.
Besides, 8,208 (0.22 per cent) votes were rejected for the four Lok Sabha seats of the hill-state
The highest 11,327 voters chose NOTA in Kangra, followed by 8,357 in Shimla, 8,026 in Hamirpur and 5,298 in Mandi.
The highest 3,322 votes were rejected in Hamirpur, followed by 2,567 in Kangra, 1,777 in Mandi and 1,542 in Shimla.
According to an official, electronic voting machines (EVMs) used for general voters, couldn't be manipulated. But, the votes of the soldiers, generally known as service voters, and those of the poll staff, who use ballot papers to exercise their franchise, could have been rejected if not properly cast.
Of the total 53,30,154 registered voters in the four constituencies, 68,028 (1.27 per cent) were service voters.
According to a state electoral officer, the highest service voters 24,245 were in the Hamirpur Lok Sabha seat, followed by 21,836 in Kangra, 13,474 in Mandi and 8,473 in Shimla.
The HP Assistant Chief Electoral Officer Harbans Lal Dhiman told media sources, the ballot papers had been electronically transmitted to record offices/units of the service voters with envelopes, on May 3 to ensure their voting.
"Subsequently, the service votes were required to reach the concerned Returning Officer before the counting started," he revealed.
There were 46,000 employees deputed as polling staff and were eligible to use ballot papers in case they were on poll duty outside their respective parliamentary constituency, the officer added.
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