16 left in the fray at Neyyatinkara

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: After the scrutiny of the nomination papers of candidates for the Neyyatinkara bypoll on Thursday, 16 candidates are left in the fray.The  nomination papers of the dummy candidates of the CPM and BJP and one independent were rejected while one independent has withdrawn from the race. Both candidates of the UDF and the LDF have two ‘namesakes’ each. CPM candidate F Lawrence has J Lawrence and T Lawrence, both independents, while Congress candidate R Selvaraj has T Selvaraj and Selvaraj, both independents, to confuse the voters.Meanwhile, the Central Election Commission has issued a directive to provide a special code to the ‘namesakes’ contesting at Neyyatinkara for identification. The name of the place or the profession of the ‘namesakes’ must be added to their name in the voting machine, said the directive.May 19 is the last date for withdrawal of nomination papers.