The Kerala High Court came out against the practice of fielding “namesake”candidates in elections to mislead or confuse voters, describing this tactic as a threat to the integrity of the democratic process.
While hearing a petition filed by actress Anjali PV, seeking to change her name to her more popularly known name “Anjali Nair” in the ballot paper/Electronic Voting Machine (EVM), a single bench of Justice PV Kunhikrishnan said the practice of fielding “namesake” candidates is a fundamental assault on democratic integrity.
The Court observed that political parties often field independent candidates who share the same or very similar names as prominent rival candidates. The primary goal of this strategy is to mislead or confuse voters — particularly those who may be elderly or have low literacy— into casting their votes for the wrong person, thereby splitting the support for the main contender. The High Court equated this practice to “killing democracy,” noting that it intentionally distorts the will of the people.
Justice Kunhikrishnan observed that such actions are specifically designed to mislead the public and could effectively invalidate the electoral process. By pointing out that parties across the spectrum employ this strategy—using nearly identical names to siphon off votes, he called for an immediate end to the practice to protect the sanctity of the ballot.
“It’s a massacre of democracy. It is only to confuse the voters. It will efface the election. I am against that. All political parties are doing this…If Kunhikrishnan PV. is contesting, they will find Kunhikrishnan T.V., K.V., etc. That should be stopped.”
Anjali Nair, a Malayalam actress who is fielded by the Twenty20 political party, a constituent in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Kerala, has raised concerns that her name is recorded as Anjali PV in the electoral records. She has approached the High court seeking a direction to the Returning officer, Thrippunithara constituency to change her name to her more popularly known name “Anjali Nair” in the ballot paper/EVM.