‘No problem for existing voters, those evicted can enroll at new address’: Assam CEO on SR

Guwahati: As the Election Commission rolled out ‘Special Revision’ (SR) of electoral rolls of Assam from Tuesday, the state’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Anurag Goel stressed that existing voters will not face any problem under the exercise.

He emphasised that new residents can also enroll themselves, including people evicted from encroached government land, by producing their previous voter details, as the state prepares for Assembly elections early next year.

Addressing a press conference here, Goel said, “The purpose of the SR is to ensure that all eligible voters are included and ineligible removed from electoral rolls.”

The EC had on Monday ordered SR for Assam with January 1, 2026, as the qualifying date to carry out the exercise. The final voter list based on it will be published on February 10.

Goel claimed that it is for the first time that SR of electoral rolls is being conducted in any state, and that it was necessitated due to the special provisions of citizenship in Assam.

“There are special provisions for citizenship in Assam. NRC has been updated and only publication is awaited, and the NRC data will be conclusive proof for citizenship. Under the circumstances, the EC has ordered SR for Assam in place of Special Intensive Revision (SIR),” the CEO said.

He said that while special summary revision is a “routine” matter and SIR a thorough procedure, SR comes in between the two to ensure error-free electoral rolls.

Under SR, booth-level officers (BLOs) will make home visits and the head of the family or a competent member will verify the number and names of eligible voters in that household.

In case of death, the voter’s name will be deleted, and for inclusion of new name, forms will be provided by the BLO, which have to be filled up and submitted within the stipulated time.

“Under SR, existing voters do not have to show any documentary evidence. The verification by the head of the family or competent member will suffice. For new voters, the document showing linkage with an existing voter will suffice,” Goel said.

Asked about voting rights of people evicted during recent anti-encroachment drives in the state, the CEO said they can enroll themselves in the new place of residence.