Assam’s draft voter roll has added 2,18,771 net electors after the Election Commission included 4,12,344 names and deleted 1,93,573 names during the Special Summary Revision. The draft electorate now stands at about 2.51 crore, with citizens able to file claims and objections between November 12 and December 11 before the final roll is published on January 4.
The draft roll was published by the Election Commission on Thursday. The previous final roll, published in February ahead of the Assembly polls, recorded 2,49,58,139 electors. The latest revision therefore represents a net increase of more than two lakh voters compared with that roll.
Women marginally outnumber men in the draft register, with the difference standing at 1,289 electors. The figures reflect the outcome of the continuous revision process, during which the electoral authorities added new names and removed existing entries under the prescribed revision procedures.
Assam was not included in the nationwide Special Intensive Revision exercise undertaken by the Election Commission. Instead, the state has been placed under the Special Summary Revision process. According to the Election Commission, this decision relates to Assam’s separate provision under India’s citizenship laws and the fact that the citizenship identification process conducted through the National Register of Citizens remains under the monitoring of the Supreme Court and has not concluded.
The draft roll covers 31,516 polling stations across the state, with an average of 799 electors assigned to each station. Among Assembly constituencies, Dalgaon has the largest electorate at 3,25,746, while Amri (ST) has the smallest, with 1,01,509 electors. Mankachar has the highest number of polling stations, at 402, whereas Dotma (ST) has the lowest, with 147.
The claims-and-objections period gives electors and other stakeholders an opportunity to seek corrections or raise objections in accordance with the procedures and guidelines notified by the Election Commission. The exercise is consequential for residents whose names have been added, deleted or carried forward in the draft register, since the final roll will determine the electorate used for subsequent electoral processes.
The office of Assam’s chief electoral officer has appealed to electors, political parties and other stakeholders to participate actively in the revision process. The Election Commission has stated that the draft roll remains subject to the prescribed process, with the final electoral rolls scheduled for publication on January 4.
