Bengali? Yes, SIR. Brahmin? Yes, SIR. Go, fall in line
Times of India | 24 January 2026
Kolkata: The Mukherjees, Banerjees and Chatterjees are filling up "logical discrepancy" lines at hearing centres across Bengal as the Election Commission software demands to know why their families had "different surnames" a generation or two ago — Mukhopadhyay for Mukherjee, Bandyopadhyay for Banerjee and Chattopadhyay for Chatterjee.
The British administration had simplified several lengthy Brahmin surnames — Ganguly for Gangopadhyay, Mukherjee for Mukhopadhyay, Chatterjee for Chattopadhyay and Bhattacharjee for Bhattacharya — for ease of pronunciation and documentation. People now mostly prefer to use the shorter versions of these long surnames unlike their ancestors, but this is fetching them hearing notices on grounds of "surname mismatch".
Hazra resident Spandan Bhattacharjee, for example, will attend a hearing on Jan 29 because his father's name on the 2002 SIR list is Ashok Bhattacharyya. "It seems everyone but the EC knows that both these surnames are same. My BLO is also a Bhattacharyya, but she said it is mandatory for voters to appear for the hearing if summoned. I hope my passport will serve the purpose," said the 35-year-old.
At a Netaji Jayanti event in the city, CM Mamata Banerjee said summoning people over their surnames showed a basic lack of understanding of Bengal's culture. "I write Mamata Banerjee in English and, in Bengali, I write Mamata Bandyopadhyay. What is the problem with that?" she asked.
Professor Bidit Mukherjee has been summoned to prove that he is the son of Ashani Mukhopadhyay, ex-Barasat Municipality chairman. "How can this be categorised as logical discrepancy? I got my voter's card in 2014 and I meet all EC criteria. Yet, I have been summoned for something that is completely illogical," said Bidit.
Several BLOs and AEROs conceded that these were not cases of surname mismatch but added that the EC's software was picking up ‘mismatches' and putting electors on the discrepancy list."These mismatches can be ignored but we are bound to follow instructions," said an AERO.
Phoolbagan resident Samiran Chatterjee queued up on Wednesday because some of his documents carried Chattopadhyay. "I mostly use ‘Chatterjee' but my academic and a few other documents have Chattopadhyay. This has landed me in the logical discrepancy category," he said.
Till a couple of decades ago, Calcutta University and the local boards were strict about using only the lengthier version of these Brahmin surnames, resulting in lakhs having the lengthier version on their academic records even if they used the shorter one for all other purposes.
Shyambazar voter Arunita Banerjee's case is perhaps the most ironical. She was called for the hearing because her father's surname in the 2002 roll appears as ‘Bandyopadhyay' even when all his documents, show ‘Banerjee'. "We don't know why EC changed his surname. I submitted all documents today," she said.