'No problem for existing voters, those evicted can enroll at new address': Assam Chief Electoral Officer on Special Revision

Guwahati: As the Election Commission rolled out 'Special Revision' (SR) of electoral rolls of Assam from Tuesday, the state's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Anurag Goel stressed that existing voters will not face any problem under the exercise.

He emphasised that new residents can also enroll themselves, including people evicted from encroached government land, by producing their previous voter details, as the state prepares for assembly elections early next year.

Addressing a press conference here, Goel said, "The purpose of the SR is to ensure that all eligible voters are included and ineligible removed from electoral rolls."

The EC had on Monday ordered SR for Assam with January 1, 2026, as the qualifying date to carry out the exercise. The final voter list based on it will be published on February 10.

Goel claimed that it is for the first time that SR of electoral rolls is being conducted in any state, and that it was necessitated due to the special provisions of citizenship in Assam.

"There are special provisions for citizenship in Assam. NRC has been updated and only publication is awaited, and the NRC data will be conclusive proof for citizenship. Under the circumstances, the EC has ordered SR for Assam in place of Special Intensive Revision (SIR)," the CEO said.

He said that while special summary revision is a "routine" matter and SIR a thorough procedure, SR comes in between the two to ensure error-free electoral rolls.

Under SR, booth-level officers (BLOs) will make home visits and the head of the family or a competent member will verify the number and names of eligible voters in that household.

In case of death, the voter's name will be deleted, and for inclusion of new name, forms will be provided by the BLO, which have to be filled up and submitted within the stipulated time.

"Under SR, existing voters do not have to show any documentary evidence. The verification by the head of the family or competent member will suffice. For new voters, the document showing linkage with an existing voter will suffice," Goel said.

Asked about voting rights of people evicted during recent anti-encroachment drives in the state, the CEO said they can enroll themselves in the new place of residence.

"Wherever a person is currently residing, they can enroll themselves there by producing the previous Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC). Even a person who may have come to Assam recently and will be staying here for a prolonged period, can enroll themselves through the same process," he said.

Goel added that the onus remains on the voter to get their name struck off from the list where they were previously enrolled.

A software is used to detect duplication of voters through checking of names and photograph by the EC within a state, but a margin of error remains, he said.

He also highlighted the provision for appealing against wrongful exclusion or inclusion of names from the voter list and urged the people to use it.

Goel further said that 29,656 BLOs – one against each existing polling station – have been appointed, while 61,553 booth-level agents (BLAs) of political parties will accompany them for smooth conduct of the exercise.

With rationalisation of polling stations scheduled to be undertaken, another 1,826 polling stations are likely to be added in the state, he said.

The CEO also clarified that ‘D-voters’ (doubtful voters) will not be covered under the SR, with the state currently having 94,277 such names.