Assam voter list revised ahead of Assembly polls due in six months
Over 10.56 lakh names deleted in Assam electoral roll revision
Guwahati: The names of 10.56 lakh voters have been deleted following the Special Revision of electoral rolls in Assam, where Assembly elections are due in less than six months.
According to the integrated draft electoral rolls released by the Election Commission of India on Saturday, Assam now has 2,51,09,754 voters, excluding 93,021 “D-voters” or doubtful voters. The deletions include 10,56,291 names removed due to death, migration or multiple entries.
Of the deleted names, 4,78,992 were removed following the death of voters, 5,23,680 due to voters shifting from their registered addresses, and 53,619 because of demographically similar or duplicate entries identified for correction.
D-voters are individuals disenfranchised in Assam over alleged lack of proper citizenship credentials. Such cases are decided by special tribunals under the Foreigners Act, 1946, and those declared as D-voters are not issued voter identity cards. The Election Commission said all details of D-voters, including name, age and photograph, have been carried forward unchanged in the draft rolls.
The draft electoral rolls were published after a house-to-house verification conducted as part of the Special Revision between November 22 and December 20. The verification covered 61,03,103 households across the State.
Voters can file claims and objections to the draft rolls until January 22, after which the final electoral rolls will be published on February 10.
The revision exercise involved 35 District Election Officers, 126 Electoral Registration Officers, 1,260 Assistant Electoral Registration Officers, 29,656 Booth Level Officers and 2,578 BLO Supervisors. Political parties deployed 61,533 Booth Level Agents to assist and monitor the process.
While a Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls is currently underway in 12 States and Union Territories, including Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, the Election Commission ordered a Special Revision specifically for Assam.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar had earlier said that Assam has separate provisions under the Citizenship Act and that the process of verifying citizenship, under the supervision of the Supreme Court, was nearing completion.
Officials said the Special Revision falls between the annual summary revision and a Special Intensive Revision. The exercise aims to ensure an error-free electoral roll by enrolling eligible voters, correcting clerical errors, removing names of deceased or shifted voters, and eliminating duplicate entries.
Following rationalisation, Assam now has a total of 31,486 polling stations, the Election Commission said.
( Source : Deccan Chronicle )
Next Story