The confusion created by namesakes of contesting candidates will be cleared if the Supreme Court agrees with the suggestion in a public interest litigation petition.
If the Election Commission agrees with the court, a 23-year-old computer science graduate will make history in electoral politics and make many politicians, cutting across party lines, a happier lot.
The second-time voter recently returned from Dubai to cast his vote in the general elections in May, only to be confused by the sheer number of namesakes of contesting candidates.
“I was confused. There were at least five people with the same name, some even had the same initials. I had to take a breath, pause and then really concentrate on pressing the right button on the electronic voting machine to vote for the candidate of my choice. I mean, the genuine one,” Akash Gahlot said, recalling his voting experience.
But not all voters across the country are so careful. So, to stop this “business of namesakes,” Mr. Gahlot appeared in person — no help of a lawyer required here — before a Bench of Chief Justice of India R.M. Lodha and Justices Kurian Joseph and Rohinton Nariman.
Dressed in a casual cotton shirt and faded jeans, the MBA aspirant explained the ordinary voters’ dilemma caused by the “namesakes.” And he had a solution too.
“Paste photographs of all the contesting candidates along with their names on the ballot machines. Also put the same photos in the list of contesting candidates,” he said in his plea.
The submission saw Justice Joseph lean towards the CJI for a brief discussion, following which the CJI said, pointing to Justice Joseph, “My brother thinks yours is a very good idea.” The Bench issued notices to the EC and the Union of India to respond to Mr. Gahlot’s “idea”.
