CPIM's Md Salim & Son's Name Changed in Draft Voter List

Atish Aziz, son of the general secretary of CPI(M)'s West Bengal unit Md Salim, has alleged a mix-up in the draft electoral rolls published by the Election Commission, claiming that a Hindu surname, ‘Awasthi’, was added to both his name and that of his father, triggering a political controversy.

In a social media post, Aziz said he is a registered voter in the Kolkata Port Assembly constituency and that his name appears in official records as Atish Aziz. However, while verifying the draft electoral rolls, he noticed that the surname “Awasthi” had been added to his name, with the same error reflected in his father’s entry as well.

“If such a mistake can occur in the case of someone who has been in public life for decades, it raises serious questions about what ordinary voters might be facing,” Aziz said. PTI reported.

He questioned the rationale behind conducting the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, which involves expenditure of crores of rupees, if basic inaccuracies continue to surface. In a sharp remark, Aziz wrote that while sections of the media and the BJP had claimed the SIR would be used to target Muslims, the process instead ended up “turning both my father Md Salim and me into Brahmins” by adding the surname.

Aziz also shared images of the draft rolls to substantiate his claim and said the CPI(M)’s booth-level agent has taken up the matter with the office of the Chief Electoral Officer. The draft electoral rolls were published on December 16 following the digitisation of enumeration forms under the first phase of the SIR exercise.

(with Inputs from PTI)