A J Sukarno is a relieved man. There are occasions when a rare or outlandish name can prove to be a headache. But when it comes to contesting an election, it indeed is a blessing. Thank papa and mamma for that.
‘’The name comes in handy. Your opponents can’t field someone with the same name to confuse the voters,’’ says CPM’s Sukarno, who shares his name with the former Indonesian president.
‘’But then, it’s a sure win for me anyway. I have 20-30 years of political experience here. That is sure to work for me,’’ says the former DYFI vice president.
But did you know that major candidates - CPM, Congress or the BJP - in 62 wards of the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation won’t be sharing Sukarno’s sentiments on nomenclature. Especially if they have run-of-the-mill names like Rajesh, Bindu or worse, a name like Jayakumar which offers glorious opportunity for spin-offs like V Jayakumar or Vijayakumar!
If you can’t avoid, confuse, goes the old Chinese dictum.
It’s an old trick, but it works every time. Even if the like-named independent doesn’t win - he/she is not meant to win anyway - can still whittle away at the opponent’s votes. Like V M Sudheeran woefully realised in 2004 in Alappuzha when he lost to Dr K S Manoj by a thin margin. Sudheeran’s nemesis proved to be V S Sudheeran, an independent! With such fabulous precedents, the game continues.
So for the local body polls in Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, we have CPM’s P R Rajesh fighting independents Rajesh R and Rajesh N in Thirumala in addition to BJP’s K Anil Kumar, who has his own headache in the form of K Anil Kumar. CPM’s Sreekariyam Anil has to take on independent Anil along with Congress’s Adv S Jayakumar who, in turn, is casting furtive glances at Vijayakumar, S Vijayakumar and B Vijayakumar, all independents.
There are three Georges and three Vinods trading punches in Kesavadasapuram, three Sreekumars in Pattom, two Rajeswaris at Punnakkamugal and three Gopakumars and one Gopan in Sreevarahom.
But party candidates are not lacking in confidence, at least when it comes to expressing their opinion to the media. Same name? So what? ‘’No problem. I will win. These are just tricks,’’ says CPM’s K C Vikraman, who has to suffer independent N Vikraman in Nettayam.
Some, at least, are banking on their nicknames to see them through. Like Congress’s G Suresh Kumar in Sasthamangalam, where Suresh A is in the fray. But Suresh Kumar is sitting cool since anyway he is better known as Sasthamangalam Gopan in the locality.
Still, a rare name is a rare name. Try coming up with Happykumar to fight CPI’s Happykumar in PTP Nagar.
As the woebegone Juliet asked, ‘What’s in a name?’ Plenty or nothing, depending on the way you look at it. Or depending on whether you are contesting an election or not.
tikirajwi@expressbuzz.com