Rule 49 O of the Conduct of Election Rules 1961 describes the procedure to be followed when a voter wants to cast a negative vote by rejecting all the candidates in the ballot paper list and decides to record this fact so that his voting right cannot be exercised by others.

“In the last election, we received feedback that some voters who wanted to cast negative votes could not be guided by the electoral officers properly as the officers were not aware of the provision of casting negative vote. So, we have arranged special training for polling officers so that they can guide the voters in this regard,” said Debashis Sen, Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal Election Commission.

He added that the voter has to give his thumb impression and sign the voter’s register before leaving the poll booth in case he or she decides to opt for negative vote.