Mumbai: Winning an election is every candidate’s dream. They campaign tirelessly and invest crores to secure victory, but sometimes that’s not enough. Candidates often resort to various tactics to reduce their opponents’ votes, one of which involves fielding an independent candidate with a similar name to their rival.
In the recent Lok Sabha elections, NCP candidate Shashikant Shinde from Satara and UBT candidate Anant Gite from Raigad lost due to confusion with independent candidates who had similar names and symbols.
In the Tasgaon-Kavathe Mahakal constituency in Sangli district, where NCP(SP)'s Rohit Raosaheb Patil, the son of late NCP leader and former home minister RR Patil, is contesting against Ajit Pawar-led NCP's Sanjay Kaka Patil, three more candidates with similar names as his are also in the fray.
The NCP (SP) has been stumped by Rohit Ravsaheb Patil, Rohit Rajgonda Patil, and Rohit Rajendra Patil, who are contesting as Independent candidates.
In a third instance, four candidates named Abhijeet Patil are contesting in the Madha constituency of Solapur. The NCP(SP) has fielded Abhijeet Patil, who now faces competition from three independent candidates with the same name.
Similarly, in Solapur's Karmala constituency, NCP candidate Sanjay Mama Shinde is up against two independent candidates also named Sanjay Shinde.
There are two Ganesh Geete are contesting from Nashik east constituency and two Sudhakar Ghare are fighting from Karjat Khalapur constituency.
Parties say these cases add to voter confusion, potentially impacting the outcomes for the official NCP candidates.
In Pune's Vadgaon Sheri assembly seat, NCP(SP) candidate Bapusaheb Tukaram Pathare has requested the disqualification of an independent candidate with a similar name, Bapu Baban Pathare, citing incomplete disclosures. Pathare faces MLA Sunil Tingre of Ajit Pawar-led NCP. The election officials, however, accepted the independent candidate’s nomination.
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In Pune’s Parvati constituency, NCP(SP) leader Ashwini Nitin Kadam, contesting against BJP MLA Madhuri Misal, also faces voter confusion due to two independent candidates with similar names – one sharing his exact name, and the other, Ashwini Vijay Kadam.