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.
