Harsha/ ENS

Mangalore, May 17: A ‘right not to vote for any candidate’, was exercised for the first time in the region by voters in the second phase of elections on Friday.

Writer and teacher Aravind Chokkady exercising a right granted under 1961 elections model code of conduct under Section 49 (O), signed a registered Form 17 (C) at Kallabettu polling booth in Moodbidri, rejecting all candidates contesting from Moodbidri-Mulky Assembly segment.

First time voter Sreesha Udupa, a second year BA degree student in Mysore-based Maharaja College, too felt that none of the candidates contesting from Karkala Assembly segment deserved his vote.

He cast a ‘NOTA (None Of The Above) vote’ at a polling booth in Ajekar, under Karkala Assembly segment, rejecting all the candidates.

Amitha, a teacher in Puttur too was keen on rejecting the candidates. But ignorant polling officers in Kunthoor polling booth denied the existence of such provisions and forced her to cast a vote on the electronic voting machine.

Aravind Chokkady, when contacted, confirmed reports that he had rejected the candidates.

Justifying his decision, he says the legislature has stopped involving itself in framing of policies. Thus the policies framed by executives are facilitating concentration of wealth in individuals.

Thus the legislatures, with anti-legislative attitudes, have no moral right to be voted to power.

Vidhan Soudha, which is lower house and duty-bound to protect public wealth, has failed miserably to discharge the primary duty.

“For instance, the then chief minister’s gesture of Rs 2,781 crore allocation for Ramanagaram constituency alone did not raise a whimper of protest from other elected representatives,” he recollects.

Chokkady had stopped short of rejecting all candidates in the previous 2004 hustings as he was not familiar with the procedures then. He believes that he has not cast a ‘neutral’ vote but an ‘active’ vote, creating awareness on the existence of such facility to send warning signals to political parties.

“If candidates continue to focus on expanding their personal wealth, paying least attention to welfare of State, there would be more NOTA in future,” warns Chokkady.