KOCHI: It seems the namesake candidate played spoilsport for the LDF in Ernakulam bypoll. KM Manu, an independent who contested in the television symbol, secured 2,544 votes in the constituency, where LDF independent Manu Roy lost to UDF’s T J Vinodh for a margin of 3,750 votes. Adding to LDF’s woes, NOTA received 1,297 votes and together this would come to 3,841 votes.
Further, K M Manu’s name was in the seventh position in the voting machine whereas the LDF independent’s name was one notch below at the eighth position. This too created confusion among Left voters. Besides, the power supply was disrupted in many booths following rain, which may have led to some Left votes going to the namesake candidate.
Meanwhile, another namesake candidate Vinod A P garnered only 205 votes. This is not the first time that a namesake candidate is spoiling the winning chance of an official party candidate.