Assam NRC voter list | ECI orders ‘special revision’ of voter list in Assam: What is this course of, and why is it being performed?

The key part of the particular revision course of in Assam will probably be house-to-house visits by Booth Level Officers (BLOs) to conduct bodily verification of the prevailing voter lists. In this method, Assam CEO Goel mentioned, it is “stricter than summary revision of voter lists, which takes place every year, but it will not be going into document verification like in the case of SIR (Special Intensive Revision), which took place in Bihar and is taking place in 12 other states.”

This house-to-house verification will start on November 22 and will proceed until December 20 throughout the 29,656 polling stations throughout the state.

“The BLOs registers will be printed with the names of all existing voters of each house together. They will physically verify and speak to the head of the family for any necessary updates. During the verification, they will get the necessary forms filled in case a voter in a house has died, has shifted to another constituency. If there is a new voter in the house, then form 6 will be filled, and we will just need the documentation of their linkages to existing voters in the family. The BLOs will visit a house at least three times if they do not find anybody at home on the first visit,” mentioned Goel.

The said goal of the train is restricted to “ensuring that no eligible citizen is left out while at the same time no ineligible person is included in the electoral roll.”

A parallel course of of rationalisation of polling stations will probably be performed in line with ECI instructions to restrict the quantity of voters in every polling station to 1,200 versus the sooner restrict of 1,500. As a end result of this, a further 1,826 polling stations should be arrange in Assam.

Following each these processes, the draft electoral roll will probably be printed on December 27, after which there will probably be a window for submitting claims and objections until January 22. The closing electoral roll will probably be printed on February 10. It is anticipated that the notification for the upcoming state elections will probably be launched on the finish of February.

Why is this being performed in Assam as a substitute of the SIR?

The Indian Express had first reported in July this 12 months that the Assam authorities informed the Election Commission of India (ECI) that since it is the one state to have already carried out the train of making ready the NRC, this ought to be factored in each time the ballot panel frames its timelines and decides the list of eligibility paperwork for the state’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR). The NRC was printed in 2019, which excluded 19.6 lakh people from 3.3 crore candidates, however it is but to be notified by the Registrar General of India (RGI). Last week, the Supreme Court issued notices looking for the stand of the Centre, Assam and the Registrar General of Citizen Registration on a plea looking for that National Identity Cards be issued to these in the list, and rejection orders to these excluded, in order that the appeals course of can begin.

“It is now being expected that this issue will be resolved by August 2026. When that is done, the person who are included will be conclusively proven that they are citizens and the process of an SIR will be eased for them… We have already held multiple meetings with political parties, and all parties have also agreed that an SIR should be conducted later, after the NRC,” mentioned Goel.

Unlike its order for the SIR on June 24, which was printed on its web site, the ECI hasn’t uploaded any such order for Assam, if any. The ECI’s reasoning behind the SIR and the authorized provisions invoked had been detailed in the June 24 order. ECI sources say the particular revision could be extra rigorous than the annual particular abstract revision, although not as detailed because the SIR. In the particular revision, the ECI requires signatures or thumbprints of all electors (or any grownup member of the family on behalf of the elector) on the “Statement 1” doc to verify the small print of electors in the course of the house-to-house survey.

Under the Representation of the People Act, 1950, Section 21 (3) offers for a “special revision” of electoral rolls; nevertheless, it pertains to a constituency or an element of a constituency.

“Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (2), the Election Commission may at any time, for reasons to be recorded, direct a special revision of the electoral roll for any constituency or part of a constituency in such manner as it may think fit,” Section 21 (3) says.

Are present voters going to be affected by this train?

Goel says that this is not prone to be the case. “Those whose names were already in the voter lists, it is presumed that they are valid ordinary residents,” he mentioned. This understanding may also prolong to the hundreds of households who’ve been affected by large-scale eviction workouts in Assam and misplaced their houses.

“If they have been evicted, that means they cannot be registered as voters from that address. We have spoken to the DCs from the relevant areas, and they have said that those people do not continue to live in those places. However, those evicted are already voters and ordinary residents. So they must get their address shifted through form 8, whether they are temporarily residing in another constituency, or another place int the same district, even if it is a camp. If they don’t apply for this, then there could be an issue,” he mentioned.

Apart from this, there are presently 94,277 D-voters (Doubtful Voters) in Assam whose instances are pending earlier than Foreigners’ Tribunals and should not permitted to vote in elections till their citizenship is upheld by a tribunal. In the particular revision, all their particulars will probably be carried ahead to the draft electoral roll with none change. “Any modification, including removal or deletion, shall be made only upon receipt of an order from the competent Foreigners’ Tribunal or an appropriate court of law,” states the ECI’s notification.

With inputs from Damini Nath