Voter roll errors leave citizens in limbo as names remain under adjudication in Bengal
Telegraph | 28 March 2026
A state government official whose father’s surname was changed into a Bengali expletive after translation from Nepali, and a leather goods worker whose name was wrongly recorded on his voter card, now face electoral uncertainty.
Their names were “under adjudication” when the preliminary final list of the revised electoral rolls was published on February 28. They also did not appear in the first supplementary list released on Monday night.
The SIR fiasco affects everyone: rich or poor, ordinary citizens or government officers alike.
Bengali expletive
Jagatjyoti, 40, a state government official, was a resident of Kalimpong in 2002.
“My name, along with my parents’, was listed in Nepali on the voter list,” said Jagatjyoti, who is also an Odissi dancer. He relocated to Calcutta soon after and had his voter card transferred, with all names correctly spelled in English and Bengali.
But when submitting the enumeration form this year, he discovered that his father’s original Bengali surname — previously written in Nepali — had been replaced with a Bengali expletive.
“The booth-level officer (BLO) told me there would be a hearing and I should submit all relevant documents. Later, when I went to collect the notice, the same BLO said it was a mistake I had nothing to do with and that he would fix it. He was even laughing about the whole fiasco,” said Jagatjyoti, a resident of Narendrapur, under the Sonarpur North Assembly constituency.
“No one contacted me after that, but the final list had a stamp saying ‘under adjudication’. I called the BLO, but he did not answer. The assistant electoral registration officer told me nothing could be done and that I would have to approach the judges preparing the supplementary lists,” he said.
“After the first supplementary list was published on March 23, my name was still missing. I am not sure if it will appear in the second list.”
Surname change chaos
Sariful, 56, changed his surname from Mondal to Haque in 2002.
“I changed my surname because others in my family did the same. I followed all due procedures, including filing an affidavit in court,” said Sariful, who works in a leather goods unit in the Calcutta Leather Complex, Bantala.
“The change was made across all my documents — Aadhaar, ration card, PAN card and voter card,” said Sariful, who lives in Topsia but is a voter in Bira, North 24-Parganas, under the Habra constituency.
During the SIR this year, he was called twice for hearings. “First, I was asked to submit my Aadhaar and voter cards. The second hearing required my PAN card. I submitted everything, but my name is still under adjudication,” he said.
His name was missing from the first supplementary list.
“The BLO said my brother’s and my names were not there. He claimed he had uploaded all the documents I submitted and said our names would be included,” said Sariful.
“I have been voting since I was 18. I don’t understand why my name would not be there. It feels like I committed a crime by changing my surname,” he said.
Paying the price
Md Wasim Malick’s name was mistakenly listed as Md Ashim on the 2002 voter list.
“I corrected it in 2016, and my EPIC number stayed the same, so there should be no confusion,” said Malick, 54, a Topsia resident under the Kasba constituency. He, too, works at the Calcutta Leather Complex.
“I was called twice for hearings and submitted my PAN, Aadhaar, and bank documents, but my name remains under adjudication.”
After the first supplementary list, he tried to log in but only saw a blank page. “I don’t know whether my name is there or not. I earn ₹450 daily, which will get deducted if I keep missing work chasing the BLO.”