Namesakes may give party candidates a run for their money in TN election

CHENNAI: For politicians, all is fair in war and elections. They think of ingenious ways to trip their opponents ­ ruses that are perfectly legal but can't be in any gentleman's playbook.
If campaigning doesn't work against an opponent, then confusing voters may. In Kolathur constituency, M K Stalin not only has to contend with J C D Prabhakar of the AIADMK but also a Stalin Kumar.Former Chennai mayor M Subramanian has to worry about another M Subramanian in Saidapet, besides AIADMK leader C Ponnaiyan. Experts say parties routinely field namesake independents to confuse voters. If the election is a close call, votes cast for Stalin Kumar but intended for Stalin may well make the difference.
Tirupattur in Sivaganga district has two nominations in the name of Periakaruppan with same initials. While DMK candidate is K R Periakaruppan, there is another candidate who is an independent called K R Periyakaruppan. In the neighbouring Sivaganga constituency , there are two candidates with the name of Asokan. AIADMK candidate is K R Asokan. T Asokan is an independent. “Every time in Saidapet constituency, AIADMK fields an independent with the same name as our party candidate. But our symbol is popular enough. No one will vote for anyone else,“ says DMK's M Subramanian.
In Nagapattinam, there are three candidates with names similar to candidate Tamimum Ansari who is contesting on an AIADMK ticket. The CPI candidate in the constituency is A B Dhameem Ansari and an independent is called Thameenul Ansari.
At Kattumannarkoil, where VCK leader Thol Thirumavalavan is contesting, there is an independent with the name T Thirumavalavan who may not be all that independent. Since VCK's Thirumavalavan's ring symbol is not well known, T Thirumavalavan may end up bagging more than a few votes.
Sometimes, independents not only have the same name but also get lucky enough to be allotted a symbol that may just look a bit similar to that of a party candidate. “There are instances of parties fielding independents with the same name and more or less similar symbol.For example, if Vijayakanth is contesting on Murasu (drum) symbol, another person called Vijayakanth may get lucky and be awarded a basket symbol, and village folks may just be tempted to vote for the other Vijayakanth,“ said analyst Ravindran Doraisamy.