How Tamil Nadu polls have become a battle of namesakes
In the Thuraiyur (SC) assembly segment in Trichy district, the AIADMK’s Saroja faces three namesakes, while in Mannargudi, as many as four candidates share the name, Kamaraj.
In Coimbatore South, where former DMK minister V. Senthil Balaji is contesting, five candidates named Senthil are in the race, with one as the official TVK nominee and the others as independents.
In the Thondamuthur constituency in Coimbatore district, where AIADMK veteran S.P. Velumani is in the fray, three additional candidates named Karthikeyan have entered the contest alongside the official DMK nominee N. Karthikeyan.
Some leaders say that putting up candidates with the same names is a deliberate tactic that has the potential to split votes.
“Such tactics, intended to confuse the public, are a common sight in every election. While this is unlikely to cause any major adverse impact, the resemblance of certain symbols to those of major parties can indeed lead to significant confusion,” a former AIADMK functionary, who did not want to be named, told ThePrint.
DMK spokesperson Saravanan Annadurai told ThePrint that fielding namesake candidates was a “desperate measure by desperate individuals”.
“Political parties in Tamil Nadu are well recognised and their symbols are established in the minds of the people; so the people know the party they are voting for,” said Annadurai. “These tactics do not play a major role in the elections and might work only if the symbols are not identified well by the people, which is not the case in the state.”
Political observers say namesake candidacies are not uncommon in Indian elections, where they often serve as spoilers or independent bids. Experts say that having multiple candidates sows confusion among voters, but it doesn’t have a major impact on the outcome.
“We have seen this happen even in earlier elections. The names Vijay, Vignesh, Sampath and Parthiban are common in the state, but having independent candidates in multiple constituencies does raise suspicion among the TVK party members,” said political analyst Arun Kumar. “While they do create confusion, they do not seem to have a major impact in the elections because the party symbols clearly grant a differentiation.”
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Many Josephs & Vijays
The decision to contest two constituencies—Perambur and Trichy East—allowed Vijay to keep his options open amid talks that his Perambur nomination might be rejected.
The scrutiny of nominations saw a dramatic turn of events, including protests from Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) members over his nomination.
They alleged that the notary who signed the actor’s affidavit was not currently licensed. However, the returning officer asked for the documents to prove this claim. Since the other party members failed to produce them, the nomination was accepted later.
In its debut election, Vijay’s party is going solo, having rejected alliance overtures, and positioning itself as a fresh alternative in what is shaping up as a three-cornered fight featuring the ruling DMK-led alliance, the AIADMK-BJP combine and the TVK.
Perambur doesn’t stand out just for the number of namesakes in the fray. The constituency also has the highest number of candidates among all 234 Assembly seats in Tamil Nadu.
Actor Vijay’s namesakes denied that their decision to stand against him was deliberate. One of the TVK chief’s rivals in Perambur, the AIJMK’s K. Vijay, told ThePrint, there was no political motivation.
“I am a district secretary of our party, which was founded in 2017. I have not been given the symbol yet, and there is no intention of trying to impact and affect actor Vijay’s nomination. We have filed nominations in multiple constituencies,” he said.
“There is no political motivation, and I have been active in my constituency for many years now. If people assume that I was given a ticket because my name is Vijay, then let that be the case. I do not think there’s any confusion because our symbols are going to be different.”
Another candidate from the Perambur constituency, M. Joseph, defended his nomination, saying that while he was contesting an election for the first time, he was standing independently and there was no political agenda from any other party behind his nomination.
“I have been here in Perambur since childhood, and I have always wanted to do something for our community of Christians and Dalits,” he told ThePrint. “We have tried to speak to all the MLAs in the last few elections, seeking their support for the development of our community, but we have felt their support was not adequate for us. I have never been associated with any political party and my intentions are only to help my community.”
The other two candidates from Perambur, named Vijay, did not respond to ThePrint’s calls.
The TVK saw similar cases of namesake candidates in other constituencies, too. In the Chennai Harbour constituency, TVK candidate Sinora P.S. Ashok will be up against two independent candidates with similar names: Sinora S. Ashok and Sinora Ashok Kumar.
In Coimbatore North, TVK candidate V. Sampath Kumar will fight against three independent candidates named Kumar: R. Sampath Kumar, S. Sampath Kumar and K. Sampath Kumar. In Coimbatore Kavundampala constituency, the party’s candidate, R.D. Kanimozhi Santhosh, is running against independent candidate K. Kanimozhi.
Meanwhile, Coimbatore’s TVK candidate Kinathukadavu K. Vignesh will take on three independent candidates with similar names: V. Vignesh, S. Vignesh and C. Vignesh Prabhu. Even in Salem South, TVK candidate Parthiban is facing two independent candidates named A. Parthiban and V. Parthiban.
TVK treasurer P. Venkatraman told ThePrint that putting up namesake candidates was a strategy adopted by political parties for many years. “But it does not affect the outcomes in an election, as the symbol and candidate photos are also now being displayed. Besides, no one can copy actor Vijay,” he said.
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)
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