Assam CEO Asks District Officials to Gear Up for SIR

Informing that that CEO in its order has directed that all electoral registration officers (EROs), assistant EROs, and booth-level officers (BLOs) be in place before the SIR schedule is announced, sources in the state election commission said that the state will go to the polls early next year for the first time since the delimitation of its 126 constituencies in 2023.

Pointing out that the directive also advised that additional BLOs for newly created polling stations be identified in advance, sources said that he order further instructed that election staff and data entry operators should not be given additional duties during the SIR process, and that Bodoland Territorial Council (tBTC) districts must not divert these personnel for BTC elections, instead arranging alternative manpower. The elections for the BTR autonomous council are likely to be held in September as indicated by Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

The chief minister has already stressed the need for an SIR of electoral rolls, framing it as essential to cleanse voter lists of alleged illegal entries. He said that Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's recent remarks on vote theft and Aadhaar-linked voter IDs inadvertently validated the need for the exercise. “In Assam, there are Bangladesh-origin Miya Muslim brothers, and their names appear in Barpeta, Guwahati, Kerala, and even Delhi,” he argued while reiterating the necessity of SIR.

The last intensive revision in the state was conducted in 2005. The DEOs have also been instructed to share the updated 2005 voter list with recognised parties, activate district contact centres for public queries, and ensure daily updates to grievance service portal.

The directive stated that District Contact Centres (DCCs) will be activated centrally, but DEOs must designate employees to attend calls and update the NGSP portal daily during office hours, without incurring extra costs.