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None of the Above (NOTA) is an option in Indian elections to enable voters to vote against all contesting candidates. Nevertheless, though, in the present regulations, even if NOTA has the greatest number of votes in a constituency, it has no bearing on the final result.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has explicitly made the decision that a candidate who achieves the highest amount of votes out of the actual number of applicants shall be declared the winner in spite of any number of votes offered by the NOTA. Votes by NOTA are actually counted and recorded but considered to be invalid to decide the winner.

This stand is based on the Supreme Court ruling in 2013, where the introduction of NOTA to promote cleaner politics was introduced, but it did not give it the authority to override the results and also to carry out fresh polls. Nota Petitions that seek re-elections with NOTA leading the chart are pending or have not yet changed the rule as of 2026.

Mostly, NOTA is symbolic and may only indicate voter dissent but does not prevent the second-highest (or highest actual candidate) from holding the seat.