Guwahati: In a major update to Assam’s electoral rolls, the Election Commission (EC) has marked 1.06 million names for deletion, accounting for roughly 4% of the draft voter list, officials said on Saturday. The revision comes amid heightened scrutiny of voter rolls ahead of the 2026 Assam Assembly elections, scheduled in less than six months.
Following the special revision (SR) exercise, Assam now has 25,109,754 registered voters, excluding 93,021 D-voters, individuals who are disenfranchised due to alleged lack of proper citizenship credentials.
Breakdown of Deletions
The deletions stem from a house-to-house verification exercise conducted across the state from November 22 to December 20, with January 1, 2026, as the qualifying date. According to the EC:
- 479,000 names were removed due to deaths.
- 524,000 names were deleted because voters had shifted addresses.
- 53,619 entries were identified as duplicate or demographically similar registrations.
The remaining entries under scrutiny will enter the claims and objections phase, allowing voters to submit applications from December 27, 2025, to January 22, 2026. The final electoral rolls are scheduled for publication on February 10, 2026.
Special Revision vs. Special Intensive Revision
Assam is conducting a Special Revision (SR), rather than a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) being carried out in 12 other states and Union territories, including Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal.
The distinction is driven by the ongoing National Register of Citizens (NRC) update in Assam, which remains incomplete and operates under Supreme Court supervision. Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar explained:
“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.”
Unlike SIR, where voters must submit proof linking them to a base electoral roll, the SR focuses on voluntary enrolment, corrections, and objections. Voters were not required to submit additional identity proofs during this exercise.
Administrative and Political Oversight
The SR exercise involved massive administrative machinery:
- 29,656 Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and 2,578 BLO supervisors visited 6.1 million households.
- 35 district election officers, 126 electoral registration officers, and 1,260 assistant electoral registration officers coordinated the field operations.
- Political parties deployed 61,533 booth-level agents to monitor the process.
According to the EC, the revision was a meticulous effort to enhance the integrity of the voter list ahead of the 2026 assembly elections, ensuring that only eligible citizens are registered.
Voter Demographics in Assam
The state’s voter base currently comprises:
- 12,572,583 men
- 12,628,662 women
- 379 voters classified as ‘others’
Assam now has 31,486 polling stations, rationalised based on population and geographic distribution, to ensure smooth conduct of elections.
D-Voters and Citizenship Scrutiny
D-voters—determined by special tribunals under the Foreigners Act, 1946—are individuals whose citizenship is disputed. While they are not issued voter ID cards, their names, ages, and photographs are carried forward to the draft roll without alteration.
The EC highlighted four mandatory criteria for voter enrolment:
- Must be an Indian citizen.
- Must meet the minimum age requirement (18 years on or before qualifying date).
- Must be an ordinary resident of the constituency where registration is sought.
- Must not be legally barred from voting, including being of unsound mind or convicted under disqualifying laws.
The SR process falls between the annual special summary revision and the more comprehensive SIR, allowing voters to update entries without the intensive verification required in SIR.
Significance Ahead of 2026 Polls
The deletion of 1.06 million names and verification of entries is a critical step ahead of Assam’s assembly elections, where electoral integrity and accuracy of voter rolls remain key concerns.
The EC emphasised that the claims and objections phase is an opportunity for eligible voters to:
- Correct their personal details
- Rectify addresses
- Challenge erroneous deletions
Failure to participate in this phase may result in exclusion from the final voter list, affecting eligibility to vote in the upcoming polls.
Challenges and Controversies
The electoral roll revision comes amid ongoing political sensitivities over the NRC update in Assam, particularly concerning citizenship verification. While the SR does not require proof of citizenship, the D-voter category continues to draw scrutiny from political parties and civil society groups, given its implications for voter disenfranchisement.
Election analysts note that deletions of over a million voters, if not properly communicated and resolved during the objection phase, could lead to litigation and political controversy during the 2026 elections.
The EC has urged voters to actively check the draft roll and submit claims or objections before the deadline of January 22, 2026, to ensure participation in the democratic process.
Next Steps
- Claims and objections: Dec 27, 2025 – Jan 22, 2026
- Final roll publication: Feb 10, 2026
- Election date: To be announced, expected within six months
The SR is expected to purge outdated, duplicate, and ineligible entries, ensuring a clean and credible electoral roll, strengthening the foundation for free and fair elections in Assam.
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