Duplicate names

In a country that sends one MP per 1.5 Million voters, what are the chances that candidates with similar names contest against each other?
And, what are the chances that only 1 of the candidates is represents a political party and rest are independents candidates? That’s not normal, or is it?

Of the 385 constituencies we have analysed so far for 2014 General Elections, there are 11 such Lok Sabha constituencies where independent candidates with same name are contesting against a mainstream political party’s candidate. Call it an absolute coincidence or a definite work of dirty tricks department to confuse voters voting for rival candidate, Election Commission of India has some fact-checking to be done at these constituencies. We have seen in our previous analysis, victory margins have come down over the years. So, in this elections, even a few hundred votes of confusion can tilt the victory either ways.

Topping this list is the Mahasamund Lok Sabha constituency in Chhattisgarh – where BJP’s Chandu Lal Sahu not only has to fight INC’s Ajit Jogi, but also another 10 Chandu Lal Sahus who are in fray as  independents.

Next comes Bilaspur, again from Chhattisgarh – where BJP’s Lakhan Lal Sahu has to fight against INC’s Karuna Shukla and another 4 Lakhan Lal Sahus, who are also contesting as independents. Even the new-comer Jarnail Singh of AAP from West Delhi has 2 other independent namesakes in fray. Interestingly, of the 11 Lok Sabha constituencies, BJP is the most affected party at 6 constituencies and INC isn’t affected at all. Here’s the list of 11 such Lok Sabha constituencies.

Now, only on May 16th we would get to know if voters at large were confused with the names at these places or was it the party name/symbol that mattered the most for the voter.