November 29, 2020: A petition has been moved in the Supreme Court seeking directions to the Election Commission of India to use its plenary power conferred under Article 324 of the Constitution to nullify the election results and hold a fresh election if maximum votes have been polled in favour of NOTA in a particular constituency.

The plea, filed by BJP leader and advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay earlier this week, also sought directions to restrict the candidates, who have participated in the invalidated election, from taking part in the fresh election to be held in the particular constituency.

Alternatively, it sought to direct the Centre to take apposite steps to invalidate the election result and hold fresh election, if the maximum number of votes have been polled in favour of NOTA (none of the above) in any particular constituency.

Upadhayay, in his petition, said that alternatively, being the custodian of the Constitution and protector of the fundamental rights of citizens, the apex court should direct and declare that if NOTA gets maximum votes, then election to that constituency shall be invalidated and fresh elections shall be held within six months.

He also sought that the contesting candidates, who are being rejected, in the nullified elections, shall not be allowed to participate in the fresh polls. The plea said that the right to reject will check corruption, criminalisation, casteism, communalism, linguism and regionalism.

"If these (directions) would be implemented, then the political parties would be forced to give tickets to honest and patriotic candidates. If candidates on whom the political parties spend crores of rupees are rejected, they would abstain from doing so," the plea said.

"The right to reject contesting candidates would mean true democracy, as the people would be able to elect their representatives in true sense. It will make contesting candidates accountable in their process," it added.