EC releases Assam's draft electoral rolls after SIR, 10.5 lakh names deleted

THe names of o'er 10.56 lakh voters feature been removed from the electoral rolls followers a Special revise work in Assam, which is set to go to Assembly polls in less than six months.According to the integrated draft rolls released by the Election Commission of India on Saturday, the state now has 2,51,09,754 registered voters, excluding 93,021 D-voters, or doubtful voters.The deleted entries: totaling 10,56,291, were removed due to reasons such as death, migration, or duplication in the rolls.What are D-voters?D-voters are a category of voters in Assam who have been disenfranchised by the government over alleged deficiencies in citizenship documentation. Such voters are identified by special tribunals under the Foreigners Act, 1946, and individuals declared as D-voters are not issued voter identity cards.All details related to D-voters, including their name, age and photograph, have been carried forward unchanged in the draft electoral rolls.The draft rolls were published after a house-to-house verification exercise conducted as part of the Special Revision between November 22 and December 20.Voters can file objections till January 22Voters can now file claims and objections till January 22, after which the final electoral rolls will be published on February 10, according to an official statement.Of the 10.56 lakh names deleted from the rolls, 4,78,992 were removed due to deaths, 5,23,680 voters were found to have shifted from their registered addresses, and 53,619 demographically similar entries were identified for correction.The verification exercise covered 61,03,103 households across the state, the statement said.It 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 also deployed 61,533 Booth Level Agents to assist in and monitor the process.Special Revision for AssamWhile a Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls is underway in 12 states and Union Territories, including Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, where elections are due alongside Assam, the Election Commission of India ordered a Special Revision specifically for the northeastern state.Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar had said, “Under the Citizenship Act, there are separate provisions for citizenship in Assam. Under the supervision of the Supreme Court, the exercise of checking citizenship is about to be completed.”Officials said the Special Revision lies between the annual special summary revision and the Special Intensive Revision.According to the statement, the exercise aims to prepare an error-free electoral roll by enrolling eligible voters left out earlier, correcting clerical errors in names, age and addresses, removing the names of deceased persons and shifted voters, and identifying and deleting duplicate entries.Following rationalisation, Assam now has a total of 31,486 polling stations.