Candidates with the same name are contesting elections in multiple constituencies across Bengal.

Trinamool Congress candidate Biswajit Das is in a heated exchange with Union Minister Santanu Thakur of the Bharatiya Janata Party in West Bengal’s controversial Bangaon constituency, where voting for the fifth phase of general elections will be held on May 20. It is expected to face competition. But adding to Das’s challenge are two independent candidates who share his name and are running in the same constituency with their own symbols.

The phenomenon is not unique in Bangaon, where Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee are busy campaigning. In at least seven constituencies in West Bengal (Joynagar, Serampore, Howrah, Mathurapur, Kanti and Barasat) scheduled to go to polls in the last three phases of the elections, Trinamool candidates have replaced independent MPs with the same name. I’m struggling with it.

There is widespread speculation in political circles that Trinamool’s rivals have fielded the namesake to confuse voters and reduce the party’s vote share. In all his EVM machines in a particular constituency, the candidate’s name is listed only next to the party symbol as an identification marker, leaving room for confusion over identical names.

Das accused opposition parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party, of fielding dummy candidates with the same name to confuse voters. “These tactics will boomerang on them. After all, voters press buttons for party symbols, not names,” Das said. hinduism.

According to his election affidavit, the “other” Biswajit Das, 37, is a businessman from Harinhata in Nadia district who runs a decoration business. An independent, he was appointed as the symbol of the air conditioner in this election. “I am campaigning vigorously, going door to door and getting good response from voters,” Das said.

He also claimed to have run in the 2021 state election, but declined to share any other information about his past forays.

The third candidate, Biswajit Das, who is also contesting as an independent from Bangaon, is a 48-year-old former Communist Party of India member (Marxist). He hails from Gaighata in North 24 Parganas district. He is assigned the symbol of Almirah. “Contesting the Lok Sabha elections will give us a chance to fight the injustices and crimes committed by the Trinamool, including the incident in Sandeshkhali,” Das said. hinduism. Asked why he had chosen to break away from the Left and contest as an independent, he said it was a “departure from the spirit of the party” and the CPI(M), which had announced an alliance with the Congress as part of the Indian bloc this year. ) decision.

Like Bangaon, Trinamool candidate Pratima Mondal from Joynagar constituency also has the same name as two independent candidates. According to the affidavit, both are farmers from South 24 Parganas district and are aged 40 and 58 years. Similarly, in Serampore, three-time Trinamool MP Kalyan Banerjee is not only fighting against Kabir Shankar Bose of the BJP and Dipshita Dhar of the CPI(M). There are also independent candidates Kalyan Paul and Kalyan Samanta with the same name. Mr Serampore will go to the polls on May 25.

In Howrah, Mathurapur and Kanti constituencies, at least one independent with the same name has filed a nomination along with their respective Trinamool candidates Prasun Banerjee, Bapi Haldar and Uttam Balik. ing. In Barasat, Kakoli Ghosh, a 34-year-old housewife, was running an independent election campaign against Trinamool’s Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar and others. However, she later declined, according to the EC’s affidavit portal.

According to Rule 22(3) of the 1961 Election Conduct Regulations: “Where two or more candidates have the same name, they shall be distinguished by the addition or other means of occupation or place of residence.”

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court refused to entertain Sabu Stephen’s petition seeking directions to the Election Commission of India to bar candidates with the same name or fake candidates. “If someone was born as Rahul Gandhi, or someone was born as Lalu Prasad Yadav, how can you prevent them from participating in elections? Does that affect their rights? Isn’t it?” the three-judge bench asked advocate VK Biju, representing the petitioner. The petition was eventually withdrawn.