- By Soumyaroop Mukherjee
- Sat, 27 Dec 2025 07:37 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has released the draft electoral roll for Assam on Saturday, December 27, after the completion of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). The draft list saw the deletion of over 10.56 lakh names, with the total number of voters standing roughly around 2,51,09,754.
Besides these, nearly 93,021 voters have been flagged by the ECI as D-voters or doubtful voters. The names of 10,56,291 voters have been deleted due to death, shifting, or multiple entries. Out of the total 10.56 lakh fictitious voters, 4,78,992 names were deleted because of deaths, 5,23,680 voters were found to have moved from their registered addresses, and 53,619 demographically similar entries were identified for correction.
The draft roll was published after house-to-house verification was done under the SIR from November 22 to December 20 where a total of 61,03,103 households were mapped by the Election Commission. The exercise involved 35 District Election Officers (DEOs), 126 Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), 1,260 AEROs, 29,656 Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and 2,578 BLO Supervisors. Political parties deployed 61,533 Booth Level Agents (BLAs) to assist and monitor the process.
What Are D-Voters?
D-Voters or doubtful voters are a category of voters in Assam who have been deleted by the government due to a lack of proper citizenship credentials. D-Voters are determined by special tribunals under the Foreigners Act, 1946, and the person declared as a D-Voter is not given a voter card.
Voters whose name is not on the list can file claims and objections till January 22, with the final electoral roll to be published on February 10.
The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is currently underway in 12 states and Union Territories, including Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal, where elections would be due. A Special Revision was ordered by the EC in the northeastern state.
Why Is SIR Needed In Assam?
The state of Assam will go to the polls next year, making it crucial to ensure that the electoral rolls are accurate and free of discrepancies. The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) is aimed at updating voter lists by identifying and correcting errors, removing duplicate or ineligible entries, and ensuring that only eligible citizens are included. Given Assam’s history of migration and proximity to the international border, it is important that a revised voter list is there before the Assembly Elections are held.