Trinamool Congress candidate Biswajit Das is set to face stiff competition from Union Minister Santanu Thakur of the BJP on May 20 with West Bengal’s contentious Bangaon constituency going to polls in the fifth phase of the general election. Adding to Mr. Das’s challenges, however, are two Independent candidates who share his name, contesting in the same constituency under their unique symbols.
Bangaon, which has seen hectic campaigning by Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, is not unique in this phenomenon. In at least seven West Bengal constituencies set to vote in the last three phases of the election — Joynagar, Serampore, Howrah, Mathurapur, Kanthi, and Barasat — Trinamool candidates are grappling with namesake Independents.
In political circles, speculation is rife that the namesakes have been fielded by Trinamool’s rivals to confuse voters and cut the party’s vote share. On every EVM machine in a given constituency, names of contesting candidates are listed only next to their party symbols as the distinguishing markers, leaving room for confusion around identical names.
Mr. Das accused Opposition parties, including the BJP, of fielding dummy namesake candidates to confuse voters. “These tactics will boomerang on them. Ultimately, voters press the button for party symbols, not for names,” Mr. Das told The Hindu.
‘Another’ Biswajit Das, 37, is a businessman from Haringhata in Nadia district who runs a decorators business, according to his election affidavit. An Independent, he has been assigned the symbol of air conditioner for this election. “I am campaigning vigorously, going door to door, and getting a good response from voters,” Mr. Das said.
He claimed to have contested in the 2021 State Assembly election as well, but declined to share any other information regarding his past electoral forays.
The third Biswajit Das, also contesting Independently in Bangaon, is a 48-year-old former Communist Party of India (Marxist) worker. He hails from Gaighata in North 24 Parganas district. He has been assigned the symbol of an almirah. “Contesting the Lok Sabha election will give me a chance to fight against the injustice and crimes perpetrated by Trinamool, including the incidents at Sandeshkhali,” Mr. Das told The Hindu. Asked why he chose to quit his association with the Left and contest Independently, he pointed to the CPI(M)’s decision to ally with the Congress as part of the INDIA bloc this year, in a “departure from the party ethos”.
Like Bangaon, the Trinamool candidate in Joynagar constituency, Pratima Mondal, shares her name with two Independent candidates. As per their affidavits, both are farmers from South 24 Parganas district, and are aged 40 and 58. Similarly, in Serampore, three-time Trinamool MP Kalyan Banerjee is fighting not just BJP’s Kabir Shankar Bose and CPI(M)’s Dipsita Dhar, but also namesake Independent candidates Kalyan Paul and Kalyan Samanta. Serampore goes to polls on May 25.
In Howrah, Mathurapur, and Kanthi constituencies, at least one namesake Independent has filed nominations alongside respective Trinamool candidates Prasun Banerjee, Bapi Haldar, and Uttam Barik. In Barasat, 34-year-old housewife Kakoli Ghosh had set out to contest independently against Trinamool’s Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, among others. However, she has since pulled out, according to the EC’s affidavit portal.
According to Rule 22(3) of the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961, “If two or more candidates bear the same name, they shall be distinguished by the addition of their occupation or residence or in some other manner.”
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court refused to entertain a petition by Sabu Steephen seeking directions to the Election Commission of India to bar namesake or imposter candidates. “If somebody is born as Rahul Gandhi or if somebody is born as Lalu Prasad Yadav, how can they be prevented from contesting elections? Would it not be affecting their rights?” a three-judge Bench asked advocate V.K. Biju, who represented the petitioner. The petition was ultimately withdrawn.
