Kittu, Bittu, Boni, Bunny, Goldy, Channi, Babbi, Dimpa. This is no kindergarten roll call but a list of ‘‘surnames’’ adopted by some of the candidates who fought the hotly-contested Punjab elections. While a surname indicative of caste may make or mar a candidate’s fortunes in Uttar Pradesh or Bihar, in Punjab many a young politician is replacing his traditional surname — most often drawn from the village of origin — with a more universal, forever-young nickname.

Amarpal Singh Boni, the young SAD (B) candidate and a medical college dropout who defeated a Congress heavyweight from Ajnala in these elections, breaks into a grin when you quiz him about his surname. ‘‘It’s my pet name, it means healthy and handsome,’’ he says. English teachers may have some problems with the spelling he prefers to use, but the first-time MLA is happy to wave away any corrections. ‘‘I don’t care as long as people say it with affection, ji.’’

The advantages of caste-free “surnames” like Boni far outweigh those that can be associated with one. Says Boni, “Jats, Rajputs and Ravidasiyas to Christians and baniyas — we have every caste in my constituency. And I work for everyone.”

The trend is new in a state where village names are generally favoured as surnames. Old-timers trace the practice of doing without caste surnames to the Singh Sabha movement at the turn of the 20th Century which asked the Sikhs to eschew their caste. That explains why except Harcharan Singh Brar, all Punjab CMs have set their caste aside. Be it Partap Singh Kairon, Parkash Singh Badal or Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, they chose to go with the names of their villages instead, while others like late Beant Singh and Capt Amarinder Singh opted to keep it simple with a `Singh`.

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