Independent candidates are somewhat of an enigma to many. What motivates them? What explains their sudden interest in the democratic process? How do they fund their election campaign? The answers to such questions are not uniform. One thing that is certain though is that independent candidates add colour and variety to elections.
For example, M.A .Shahjahan, an independent candidate contesting from Salem, in an effort to poke fun at the freebies being promised by various parties, has promised a Tata Nano for every voter in his constituency if he wins. For B. Kumar Sri Sri, who has floated the All India Lovers Party to contest as an independent from T. Nagar, “getting a quota for lovers is the main agenda”.
While chances of victory for most independent candidates are rather slim, in constituencies where the margin of victory is likely to be narrow, they can become a major factor in deciding the outcome.
Paadam A. Narayanan, who is a member of the Forum for Electoral Integrity, says that though independent candidates cannot make a difference in constituencies where prominent faces are contesting, they run as ‘surrogate independents' in the race to divide the votes.
A candidate from Royapuram, Jebaraj Immanuel, has been asked by a recently formed local association, whose head is a party functionary, to contest in the elections. “The association has funded my campaign and the deposit. The focus of my campaign is to preserve our culture,” he says. Also, in many constituencies, ‘dummy candidates' are fielded to route the main candidates' additional campaign expenses.
However, activists such as Traffic Ramaswamy, who is contesting from Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi's home constituency, Tiruvarur, say that many independents are pinning their hopes on the possibility of this election turning into a close race. “Independents might come to the fore in case both fronts fall short of the majority. Besides, contesting an election is a symbolic move.”
Mr. Narayanan says that there are few independent candidates who have a track record of working in the society on the issues. “Most candidates spring up during elections, while there is also another section that is determined to prove a point and bring about change,” he says.
E. Sarath Babu, who is contesting from Velachery, worked with the DMDK for six months and recently decided to contest as an independent candidate. “I have been campaigning and working in Velachery for the last two years on issues related to hunger, education, employment and entrepreneurship. As an independent, it is easier to work for one's ideals,” he says.
