What’s in the name! Everything, when Sunny Deol is contesting the elections.
Taking an electoral plunge, the actor-turned-politician Sunny Deol has filed his nomination papers to contest as the SAD-BJP combine candidate from Gurdaspur Lok Sabha seat by the name of ‘Ajay Singh Dharmendra Deol’.
But, the saffron party wanted “Sunny Deol” on the EVMs (electronic voting machines) as the people know him by his screen name, and most of the people are not aware of his real name.
For the same, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has urged the poll panel to mention its candidate’s name as “Sunny Deol” instead of his real name.
Playing a minor role in Punjab politics with just one member in the Lok Sabha, and three in Vidhan Sabha, the BJP is eyeing to grab a bigger and better share by riding high on the Bollywood action hero Sunny Deol’s star power in the May 19 Lok Sabha elections in the state.
However, Sunny’s decision to file his nomination by his real name has now put the saffron brigade in a quandary. “People know him as Sunny Deol. They don’t know who is Ajay Singh. When people would come to vote for Sunny, they may get confused of not finding it there. That is why we have requested the election commission to write Sunny Deol instead of his real name,” a senior BJP leader told The Pioneer.
Even as the poll panel has, this time, decided to carry the pictures of the candidates along with their names and election symbols on the EVMs, the saffron party is not very confident that all the voters would recognise Sunny Deol.
“There are many people in rural areas, especially the aged, which may not identify him in the picture. Moreover, the picture would be black and white, and may not come proper in the print. And what is more! Sunny Deol is campaigning in the constituency by donning a turban, and his picture is without it...so there are many issues...We would urge the Commission to consider our request,” added the leader.
Notably, Sunny Deol has been enrolled as voter by the name of Ajay Singh Dharmendra Deol and that was why he submitted his papers in the same name.
What is troubling the BJP more is that Sunny’s real name has not been mentioned in the publicity material, and only his screen name, “Sunny Deol”, is being publicised.
BJP, which was eyeing to take the advantage of Sunny Deol’s stardom, is now fearing that it may go against it. Sunny is facing Congress’ state president and sitting MP Sunil Jakhar in his first electoral fight.
WHAT THE LAW SAYS
As per the Election Commission rules, the EVM would carry the same name by which the candidate is registered as the voter, and by which he or she has filed the nomination papers.
Sunny has been registered in the voter list as Ajay Singh Dharmendra Deol, and he has filed the papers by the same name
EC TO TAKE FINAL CALL
A senior election official maintained that the candidate’s name on the EVM can be changed after following a due legal process. Now, the ball is in the court of the Election Commission.