As voters navigate the ballot, their choices are often guided more by the symbol they recognize and trust rather than the candidates’ names or qualifications. Yet, similarities between names or symbols of different parties or independent candidates can sow confusion among voters, inadvertently influencing election outcomes. In this story, we examine several instances in the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 where contestant names and symbols might have potentially influenced the electoral landscape.
In India, elections are not just battles of ideas; they are vibrant canvases where names and symbols weave narratives that sway voter preferences. These symbols, drawn from everyday life, strike deep chords with the electorate. The Election Commission of India (ECI) meticulously curates a diverse palette of these emblems, allowing parties to imprint their ideologies and agendas with familiar imagery. In a country where symbols often speak louder than names, transcending literacy and language barriers, their emotive power is undeniable. Whether it is the broom of the Aam Aadmi Party promising sweeping change or the lotus of the BJP emerging from the muck, these icons adorn banners, dominate rally stages, and embellish election manifestos, ensuring they are seared into the consciousness of voters.
The selection of a symbol is a strategic decision tailored to local sentiments and cultural nuances. As voters navigate the ballot, their choices are often guided more by the symbol they recognize and trust rather than the candidates’ names or qualifications. Yet, similarities between names or symbols of different parties or independent candidates can sow confusion among voters, inadvertently influencing election outcomes. Such instances highlight the complexities of India’s democratic process, reflecting broader challenges in its electoral arena.
Given this context, we examine several instances in the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 where contestant names and symbols might have potentially influenced the electoral landscape. This story can be viewed as an extension of our earlier work, focusing on the influence of candidates with similar names in the Karnataka Assembly Elections of 2023.
Election Symbols in India
Election symbols hold significant importance in the political landscape of India, the world’s largest democracy. The visual impact of election symbols in Indian politics is profound. They are prominently displayed on campaign materials across the country, adorning walls, and streets during election season. The allocation of symbols to candidates is governed by the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order of 1968.
Candidates from recognized national and state parties get to use their party’s unique or reserved symbols, like the hand for the Indian National Congress and the lotus for the BJP. These symbols are easily recognized and strongly linked to their parties. If a party splits, the group that keeps the symbol has a big advantage. Candidates from smaller, unrecognized parties must choose from a list of available free symbols provided by the ECI. Once picked, these symbols are used in all areas where the party candidates contest. Independent candidates also pick from these available symbols and list their top three choices when they file their nomination papers. If more than one independent wants the same symbol, a random draw by the District Electoral Officer decides who gets it. Previous explainers on these issues by Factly can be read here, here.
In the following sections, we explore three different scenarios where confusion among voters potentially influenced election outcomes. (i) Similar names (ii) Similar symbols and (iii) both similar names and similar symbols.
Scenario 1: Similar Names
Using identical names to confuse voters is a common strategy aimed at undermining support for a popular candidate. Although not illegal, this tactic undermines the integrity of the electoral process, turning it into a farce. Such deceptive tricks compromise the core principle of fair competition in elections.
The phenomenon of candidates with similar or identical names in elections is on the rise. Although the extent to which this influences electoral outcomes is debatable, it undeniably confuses voters. This confusion is evident in the votes received by unknown independent candidates with similar names.
Among many, three such instances are highlighted below.
For instance, in the Hisar and Tikamgarh constituencies, candidates with similar names did not impact the results as none of them won. However, in Shirdi and Banswara, candidates with similar names both emerged victorious, and those with similar names garnered higher votes, potentially reducing their margin of victory.
Scenario 2: Similar Symbols
Election symbols have a modest but noticeable impact on voter decisions. Candidates often select symbols they can easily associate with, and independents & others sometimes choose symbols similar to those of major parties to confuse voters.
In Telangana, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) uses the ‘Car’ symbol, while a smaller party, the Yuga Thulasi Party, is assigned the ‘Road Roller’ symbol. In the Secunderabad Lok Sabha Constituency, the BRS candidate was fourth on the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) and the Yuga Thulasi Party candidate was fifth, potentially confusing voters. The Supreme Court remarked that Indian voters can distinguish between these symbols. In this case, the Yuga Thulasi Party candidate received very few votes, not affecting the outcome. Interestingly, the Election Commission of India had proposed removing the ‘Road Roller’ symbol from the list of free symbols in 2011.
In Maharashtra, major party splits led to new symbols. The Shiv Sena split into two factions: Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (SS-UBT) and Shiv Sena, with the latter retaining the original ‘Bow and Arrow’ symbol, while SS-UBT received the ‘Flaming Torch’ symbol. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) split similarly, with Ajit Pawar’s faction recognized as the real NCP and retaining the ‘Clock’ symbol, while the Sharadchandra Pawar faction got the ‘Man Blowing Turha’ symbol. Turha means Trumpet in Marathi.
In the Satara constituency, the NCP-SP candidate Shashikant Jayvantrao Shinde lost by 32771 votes, whereas an independent candidate named, ‘Gade Sanjay Kondiba’ got 37062 votes. Interestingly, this independent candidate had ‘Trumpet’ as his symbol, almost similar to that of NCP-SP. This could be a seat where the election symbol swung the outcome. In other constituencies of Maharashtra, the candidates with the ‘Trumpet’ symbol polled significant votes even though they contested as independents.
In Tamil Nadu’s Tiruchirappalli Lok Sabha segment, Durai Vaiko from the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), with a new ‘Matchbox’ symbol, won by over 300,000 votes. An independent candidate, S. Selvaraj, using the ‘Biscuit’ symbol, received 14,796 votes. While this did not impact the outcome, it highlights how similar symbols can create voter confusion.
These examples illustrate how similar symbols can influence electoral dynamics.
Scenario 3: Similar Name and Similar Symbol
An amalgamation of the above two scenarios could be the best possible example of how similar names and symbols impact elections. The NCP-SP put up ‘Bhaskar Murlidhar Bhagare,’ popularly referred to as ‘Sir’ by people in the Dindori constituency of Maharashtra. He is a post-graduate himself. Another candidate with a similar name, ‘Babu Sadu Bhagre’ also contested as an independent’. Apart from having a similar name, Babu Bhagre was also allotted the ‘Tutari’ (trumpet) as his election symbol by the ECI, which closely resembles the NCP (SP) symbol of ‘Tutari Vajavnara Manus’ (man playing the trumpet).
Interestingly, the ECI put up ‘Sir’ beside his name, whereas his affidavit did not mention anything of that sort. To be precise, his educational qualification is only till Class 3.
ECI’s Candidate Affidavit Management site put up the following information regarding the independent candidate and the one from NCP-SP.
It is not clear how the ECI website put up a title without the candidate affirming the same. There are allegations that this act was meant to confuse voters.
In the results, the NCP-SP candidate won by a 1.13 Lakh margin, garnering 46.5% votes. The independent candidate got 8.4% votes, the third highest in the constituency.
ECI needs to be more vigilant and pro-active in addressing the concerns of Political Parties
In the previous sections, we have explored how ‘Deceptive symbols,’ and ‘Similar names’ can influence electoral outcomes. Political parties are well aware of the confusion these tactics can create among voters and often raise their concerns with the ECI. However, the ECI has not been proactive in addressing these issues.
As elections become increasingly competitive, this problem is likely to grow. It is important for the ECI to expand the list of available symbols and actively address the concerns of political parties regarding deceptive symbols to ensure a fair electoral process.
