As per the integrated draft rolls released by the Election Commission on Saturday (December 9), the state has a total of 2,51,09,754 voters, excluding 93,021 D-Voters or doubtful voters. Moreover, the names of 10,56,291 voters have been removed due to reasons such as death, relocation, or duplicate entries.
D-Voters are a category of voters in Assam who have been disenfranchised by the government due to an alleged lack of valid citizenship documentation. The determination of D-Voters is made by special tribunals under the Foreigners Act, 1946, and individuals classified as D-Voters do not receive voter cards.
All relevant details, including name, age, and photograph, of D-Voters have been transferred to the draft electoral roll without any modifications.
The draft rolls were published after a house-to-house verification process during the Special Revision, which took place from November 22 to December 20.
Voters will have the opportunity to file claims and objections until January 22, with the final electoral rolls set to be published on February 10, according to a statement.
Out of the 10.56 lakh, 4,78,992 names were removed due to deaths, 5,23,680 voters were found to have changed their registered addresses, and 53,619 similar demographic entries were identified for correction, the statement noted.
The verification process was conducted in 61,03,103 households throughout the state, it added.
This exercise involved 35 District Election Officers (DEOs), 126 Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), 1,260 AEROs, 29,656 Booth Level Officers (BLOs), and 2,578 BLO Supervisors, the statement mentioned.
Political parties deployed 61,533 Booth Level Agents (BLAs) to support and monitor the process, it said.
While the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is ongoing in 12 states and Union Territories, including Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal, where elections are approaching along with Assam, a Special Revision was mandated by the EC in the northeastern state.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar stated, “Under the Citizenship Act, there are distinct provisions for citizenship in Assam. Under the Supreme Court’s supervision, the process of verifying citizenship is nearing completion.” Officials indicated that the Special Revision is situated between the annual special summary revision and the SIR.
The statement elaborated that the Special Revision aims to create an error-free electoral roll by facilitating the enrollment of eligible unregistered voters, correcting clerical mistakes in name, age, and address, removing names of deceased individuals, relocating voters, and identifying and eliminating duplicate entries.
The state maintains a total of 31,486 polling stations after rationalization, it concluded.
