Voter List Controversy Rocks Assam's Sribhumi and Cachar Districts
Silchar: Growing anxiety has gripped Sribhumi and Cachar districts following serious allegations about attempts to delete names of legitimate voters during the ongoing Special Revision (SR-2026) of electoral rolls. The controversy has triggered widespread protests and urgent demands for intervention from election authorities across both districts.
Emergency Meeting and Official Representation in Sribhumi
In Sribhumi district, senior citizens and civil society representatives convened an emergency meeting on Thursday evening amid escalating concerns about the alleged misuse of Form 7 during the critical 'claims and objections' phase of the electoral revision process. Following extensive deliberations, a delegation met with District Commissioner Pradeep Kumar Dwivedi on Friday, submitting a detailed memorandum that seeks immediate corrective measures to address the situation.
Copies of this memorandum were also emailed to both the Assam Chief Electoral Officer and the Election Commission of India, highlighting the seriousness of the allegations at the state and national levels.
Specific Allegations Regarding Verification Process
The civil society groups have made several specific allegations regarding the electoral revision process:
- A significant number of objections were reportedly accepted without proper verification of applicants' identities or mandatory supporting documents
- Numerous voters have claimed they were completely unaware of objections filed against their names and had not signed any such application forms
- Questions have been raised about procedural fairness after notices were issued to voters who had already been verified as genuine by booth-level officers (BLOs), requiring them to appear for hearings at distant locations
District Commissioner Pradeep Kumar Dwivedi has provided assurances that no genuine voter's name will be deleted from the electoral rolls, even if hearing notices have been issued as part of the process.
Similar Concerns Emerge in Cachar District
Parallel allegations have surfaced from Cachar district, particularly affecting the Borkhola assembly constituency. Residents have accused the election machinery of targeted deletions that appear to disproportionately affect minority voters in the region.
Local residents from the Rajnagar–Manikpur area have reported that objections filed by just one or two individuals through multiple Form 7 submissions have placed nearly 1,500 voters at risk of deletion from the electoral rolls. Remarkably, this group reportedly includes even serving booth-level officers who are part of the election machinery themselves.
Broader Implications for Electoral Integrity
The controversy surrounding the Special Revision (SR-2026) has raised significant questions about the integrity of the electoral roll preparation process in these Assam districts. With both Sribhumi and Cachar experiencing similar patterns of alleged irregularities, concerns are mounting about the potential impact on voter participation and democratic representation in upcoming elections.
The situation continues to develop as civil society groups maintain pressure on election authorities to ensure transparent and fair electoral processes that protect every legitimate voter's right to participate in the democratic process.
