They share his name and now they are out to grab his fame, as two namesakes of former BJP leader Kalyan Singh join the fray against him from Etah.
Whatever be their fate, they have already made major political parties point fingers at one another.
The Samajwadi Party, which is backing the former chief minister, accused the BJP and the BSP of fielding independent candidates with the same name to mar Singh's prospects by creating confusion among voters.
"It is the BJP and the BSP, which have fielded dummy candidates to ensure the defeat of Kalyan Singh, but they are mistaken, as they do not know the voters are more than aware these days and know the election symbols of all the candidates. It is simply an attempt to spread chaos and confusion," Chaudhary said.
The BJP, however, refutes the allegations. "Fielding a dummy candidate is not the USP of the BJP. In fact, we have been repeatedly saying that the exit of Kalyan had least effect on the party," a state BJP leader told PTI.
BSP leaders were not available for comment on this issue.
Namesakes apart, SP-backed Kalyan is battling against main rivals like BJP's Shyam Singh Shakya, Congress nominee Mahadeepak Singh Shakya and BSP leader Devendra Yadav in the polls on May 7.
The SP-backed candidate, who commands a sizeable Lodh vote bank, now faces an uphill task, as the two independent candidates belong to his community and may eat into his base.
"Etah was always an interesting battleground for the party, but with the coming of two more Kalyan Singhs in the fray, the battle has assumed a more interesting feature, as both of them are Lodhs. They are going to play a major role in the polls, as their population is to the tune of three lakh," the BJP leader said.
Interestingly, one of these namesakes feels he is better placed, literally. "Unka khaali glass hai, hamara thaali aur glass hai (Kalyan Singh has just an empty glass, I have a
plate and a glass)," one of them has reportedly said, pointing at their election symbols.
The poll symbol of the former BJP leader is an empty glass and that of one of his namesakes is a plate and a glass.
