In a surprising error during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists in West Bengal, CPM state general secretary and former MP Mohammed Salim and his son Atish Aziz were mistakenly assigned the Brahmin surname “Awasthi” in the draft voter roll. The draft list, published recently, incorrectly listed their last names in Bengali under the section for surname.

Atish Aziz shared the mistake on Facebook, stating, “The Election Commission has made me a Brahmin, and Mohammed Salim too,” and posted a photograph of his voter information showing the error. The listing mentioned Mohammed Salim as a relative, but the surname “Awasthi” was recorded beside his name.

Mohammed Salim criticized the Election Commission for the error, claiming it reflects inadequate preparation and training of officials conducting the SIR exercise. He described the process as having been “taken very lightly” and called the exercise a “farcical officer” in its current state, according to his statement to The Telegraph.

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Atish Aziz said he plans to coordinate with the CPM’s Booth Level Agent to correct the mistake before the final voter list is published. Officials from Bengal’s Chief Electoral Officer’s office downplayed the error, assuring that such discrepancies will be rectified before the final list in February 2026.

The SIR exercise, conducted ahead of the upcoming West Bengal Assembly elections, has flagged over 58 lakh names for deletion, including 24 lakh deceased voters, 19 lakh permanently shifted, and 12 lakh missing. The incident highlights the challenges of ensuring accuracy in a massive electoral revision exercise.

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