Social media trolls Kochi Metro mascot naming contest

NEW DELHI: Internet trolls on Friday took over the mascot naming contest organised by the Kochi Metro to take a swipe at state BJP chief Kummanan Rajasekharan.

On Thursday, the Kochi Metro had organised a contest on social media asking people to name its mascot.

People were asked to suggest a name for its mascot, an elephant with wings, on its Facebook page. According to the rules of the contest, three names receiving the highest number of likes are to be shortlisted for the final round. Officials from Kochi Metro will then select one entry as the final winner of the contest.

However, the plans of the rapid metro system went awry when the contest was hijacked by the internet trolls.

As part of the entry to the contest, the users have suggested the name "

Kummanana

" – an apparent reference to

Kerala BJP

chief Kummanan Rajasekharan.

The suggested name, "Kummanana", was coined by joining two Malayali words, “Kumman” and “Aana”. The first refers to use of public transport without a ticket, while the latter is a Malayali for elephant.

As of now, “Kummanana” is leading the race with over 11,000 likes.

However, there were other interesting suggestions as well, such as Bablu, Kochaana, Jimbru and Kumki.

Read the story in Malayali