Kerala Assembly Elections 2026: Kerala Assembly elections are scheduled to be held on April 9, 2026. As the campaigns for this election are intensifying, many big candidates are facing a problem. Independent candidates with similar or similar names have come into the electoral fray in different assembly constituencies of Kerala. In the political terminology here, such candidates are called ‘Aparanmar’ or ‘Twins of Name’. Major political parties say that these candidates can confuse voters and affect the results of hotly contested seats.

Chief Minister is contesting elections again

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is contesting re-election from Dharmadam assembly constituency, as Vijayan from nearby Chedicherry is contesting against A.M. An independent candidate named has also filed his nomination. There is a possibility of confusion among the voters due to the names of two Vijayans appearing on the EVM. This is the reason why the workers of the Chief Minister’s party CPM have intensified their efforts to display the party’s election symbol prominently in all their election rallies. Besides, many ministers are also facing similar situations.

2 candidates with same name on same seat

Beypore to P.A. Mohammad Riyas is contesting the elections and in front of him is Mohammad Riyas P.C. And Mohammad Riyas T.T. Two independent candidates have also contested the election. In Kalamassery, P. Rajeev is contesting from another candidate named Rajeev. Even senior Congress leaders are not able to get rid of this electoral trend. In Haripad, Ramesh Chennithala is contesting against an independent candidate named Ramesh C.

Congress leader K in Vattiyoorkavu. Muraleedharan is also in the electoral fray along with another candidate named P. Muraleedharan. Current MLA V.K. Prashant faces Prashant. BJP has also not remained untouched by this trend. NDA candidate Rajiv Chandrashekhar is contesting from Nemom and here too G.S. An independent candidate named Rajeev Kumar has filed his nomination. BJP state president K. Surendran is also facing a similar situation in Manjeshwaram. Actually, this contest of Manjeshwaram is refreshing political memories. In the year 2016, Surendran had lost this assembly seat by just 89 votes. Then BJP leaders had cited the presence of candidates with similar names as a possible reason for the defeat.