With increasing number of independents in the fray for the Lok Sabha polls, the namesakes of key candidates of major political parties in various constituencies is causing concern for the latter, besides having the potential to confuse voters as well.

Confusion: Congress  politician Captain Amarinder Singh (r) faces a confusing challenge in Amritsar with his namesake contesting on an Independent ticket

Confusing voters
Though the ballot unit will have the party symbol against the contestants’ names, candidates are concerned about identical names or near-identical names confusing the voters. This is likely to be more perplexing in rural areas.

Far from a coincidence, these "dummy" candidates are using an age-old trick in Indian politics designed to fool voters who might mistakenly select the wrong person once inside the polling booth.

Political parties often scout for namesakes and then fund their election expenses in order to pit them against rivals in constituencies where a few hundred votes could swing the result. The unknown candidate is given his or her party symbol, which is usually designed to look like the one used by the more famous rival.

Although it’s not illegal, of late the Election Commission has been trying to keep a tab on these dubious contestants.
Though these candidates are not likely to tilt the scale, change the imminent victory or defeat of a candidate, in a multi-cornered contest, official party nominees are still worried as the winning or losing margins are likely to be a very slender one in this Lok Sabha election.