Over 10.56 lakh names dropped from Assam’s draft electoral rolls
New Delhi: As Assam heading for the Assembly elections in less than six months, the Election Commission has released the state’s integrated draft electoral rolls, revealing that over 10.56 lakh voter names have been deleted following a special intensive revision (SIR) exercise.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the move has triggered fresh political scrutiny over voter list revisions across poll-bound states.
Assam now has 2,51,09,754 electors, excluding 93,021 “D-Voters” — a category of doubtful voters whose citizenship status is under adjudication. The deletions account for deaths, migration and multiple or duplicate entries, the EC said.
The SIR, conducted through house-to-house verification between November 22 and December 20, covered more than 61 lakh households across the state. Officials said the exercise aimed at producing an error-free roll ahead of elections.
Of the names deleted, 4.78 lakh were removed due to deaths, 5.23 lakh owing to electors shifting residence, while 53,619 entries were flagged as demographically similar and corrected. Claims and objections can be filed till January 22, with the final rolls scheduled for publication on February 10.
The draft rolls retain all particulars — name, age and photograph — of “D-Voters” without alteration. Under Assam’s unique citizenship regime, such voters are disenfranchised pending decisions by Foreigners’ Tribunals under the Foreigners Act, 1946, and are not issued voter identity cards.
Election officials said the Assam exercise differed from the SIR currently underway in 12 states and UT, including Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. “The Assam revision lies between an annual summary revision and a full SIR, keeping in view the state’s special citizenship provisions,” an official said.
