Kolkata: Reshma Shirin Iqbal has had a three-decade-long professional career with the central government. A Gazetted Officer with the Accountant General of West Bengal (AGWB), she has served as a Micro Observer, Presiding Officer, supervised Ladies’ Booths, and assisted in conducting elections on several occasions over the past thirty years. She holds a valid passport and has travelled abroad multiple times. Yet, on March 28, when the Election Commission published the second supplementary list, she found her name deleted.
From Gazetted Officer to Deleted Voter: Reshma’s Story
Her case in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process is deeply intriguing. On February 28, when the Election Commission (West Bengal) published the final electoral roll, her name was present. On March 23, in the first supplementary list, her name appeared under “Under Adjudication.” In the second supplementary list, however, her name was missing.
Reshma’s name has been part of the electoral roll since 2002.
“When my name appeared under the ‘Adjudication’ category, I was told that my father’s name was mismatched. But that is not true. My father, Jalil Ahmed, a WBCS officer, has his name recorded consistently across all documents. I also own a flat and have a registered land deed,” Reshma said. She added that she has held a passport since 2001 and possesses almost all required documents.
“But today, I do not know where to go or whom to approach. When I contacted the BLO, he said they could not do anything and advised me to fill Form 6. But why should I fill Form 6, which is meant for new voters? If, for any reason, it is not accepted, my voting rights could be lost forever,” she added.
Voters in Limbo: Decades of History vs. Sudden Deletions
Like Reshma, Ajmira Begum, wife of Sheikh Rezaul Haque and a voter from Shyampur (AC 179), also holds a passport. The 61-year-old voter’s name has been deleted from the recently released list.
Her son, Sheikh Ashad ul Rahman, an Assistant Professor at Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), said, “My mother has cast her vote more than twenty times in different elections throughout her life. My younger brother secured Rank 45 in NET-JRF 2025 and is pursuing a PhD from NCL, Pune. Another brother is working after completing his BTech.”
He added, “My mother has given us her entire life. She was born before Bangladesh was created. And, we will not let her voting rights go away in allegations of Bangladeshi. If needed, we will not hesitate to hit the streets for her and for genuine voters whose voting rights have been taken away.”
Abhijit Mitra, a renowned artist whose exhibition was recently held in London, is also a worried father. The names of his two sons, Aranya and Roddur Mitra, have been deleted from the electoral roll.
Aranya studied at St. James School, Kolkata, completed his BTech from BITS, and pursued an MTech in the United Kingdom. The 34-year-old software engineer is currently working on an Artificial Intelligence-related project in the UK. Roddur also studied at St. James, completed a Master’s in International Relations, and has worked in Bengaluru.
Ancestry vs. Algorithms: 350-Year City Roots Face Deletion
“In the February 28 final list, both my sons and I were marked ‘Under Adjudication.’ I was told that the age difference between my father and me was only 15 years. But according to documents, it is 42 years. When I raised this during the hearing, officials admitted it was an AI-related error. In the latest list, my name has been cleared, but both my sons’ names have been deleted,” Abhijit told eNewsroom.
Speaking about his family’s long association with the city, he said, “Do you know how old our connection to this place is? It is more than 400 years. Not only have my sons studied in Kolkata, but there is a street—Neel Mitra in Dorji Para—named after my ancestors. We have been organising Durga Puja there for over 350 years.”
“Actually, the SIR is being carried out in India, especially in Bengal, to remove Muslim voters. Hindus are the collateral damage, as happens during wars. Banerjees, Chatterjees, and Mitras are the collateral damage,” he alleged. And added, “According to election commission, my two sons are Bangladeshis or Rohingayas.”
The Missing 15 Lakh: Unanswered Questions in the SIR Process
Data from the second supplementary list appears to raise serious concerns. In Malatipur (AC-47), Part No. 129, out of 1,274 voters, 363 were deleted—and all were reportedly Muslims. In Palashipara (AC-79), Part No. 135, 250 voters were deleted, with Muslims accounting for 98.8% of those removed. Several among them reportedly hold passports but still found their names missing from the electoral roll.
Following the publication of the final roll, around 60 lakh voters were placed under adjudication. After two supplementary lists, the Election Commission stated that 37 lakh cases had been disposed of by judicial officers. However, only 22 lakh names have appeared in the published lists so far, including 12 lakh in the second list.
The Commission has not specified how many names have been deleted, though sources suggest the figure could be around 40%. This leaves several questions unanswered: What happened to the remaining 15 lakh voters whose names have neither appeared nor been accounted for? And where do genuine voters, whose names have been deleted, go to reclaim their voting rights?
