Voter roll accuracy collective duty, says Assam CM amid Opposition charges

Guwahati, Jan 7: With preparations underway for the Assam Assembly elections, a political battle has erupted over the integrity of the electoral rolls, with the Opposition alleging large-scale voter manipulation and the government firmly rejecting the charge.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, addressing the issue in Dhemaji on Wednesday, defended the ongoing electoral roll revision exercise, asserting that it is transparent and strictly rule-bound.

He said maintaining a clean and accurate voter list is the collective responsibility of all political parties.

“If someone has passed away, their name must be removed. If a voter is registered in two places, one entry has to be eliminated. Otherwise, allegations of duplicate voters will surface later. A clean and correct electoral roll is the responsibility of every political party,” Sarma said, adding that he would even urge the Congress to cooperate in removing the names of deceased persons from the rolls.

He underlined that every political party appoints Booth Level Agents (BLAs) to assist election officials in verifying voter lists at the ground level.

Explaining the procedure of filing complaints, Sarma said any Indian citizen can raise objections or seek corrections by submitting statutory Forms 6, 7 or 8.

“Names are not deleted immediately. Once an objection is filed, a notice is issued to the concerned individual and an opportunity to respond is provided. Corrections can be made only after due verification and hearing,” the Chief Minister said.

Reiterating the BJP’s political agenda, Sarma said there was no attempt to conceal the government’s intent.

“Removing the names of illegal Bangladeshi nationals from the electoral rolls and recovering encroached land are part of our agenda. People have voted for us precisely for this,” he said.

Meanwhile, a notification issued by the Kamrup (M) District Election Officer on Tuesday, clarified that the electoral roll revision exercise is being conducted strictly in accordance with the Election Commission of India’s guidelines.

The notification acknowledged that complaints had been received regarding discrepancies in certain polling stations and confirmed that verification was undertaken in response.

The notification also noted that at Tayabulla Road in Guwahati, voter names at House No. 15 and House No. 44 were found to be unknown to the actual residents.

In one instance, multiple names were registered at a single address, prompting closer scrutiny by election officials.

The election office further pointed out that cases of deceased persons remaining on the rolls and duplicate registrations across different polling areas had been detected, with corrective action being taken through due process.

The clarification follows allegations made by Leader of the Opposition Debabrata Saikia earlier this month, in which he accused the BJP of planning to add “5,000 to 10,000 names” in each constituency at the last moment to influence election outcomes.

The notification also added that political parties are formally involved in the revision process through their BLAs at each polling station, while public hearings and a house-to-house survey are being conducted to ensure transparency and accuracy.

The final electoral rolls are scheduled to be published on February 10.