Assam opposition party AJP questions Assembly poll result, demands return to ballot papers

The Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) on September 23 questioned the credibility of the 2026 Assam Assembly election, citing a report on disagreements within the Election Commission of India over decisions related to electoral rolls.

The opposition party also called for the scrapping of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and a return to paper ballots, alleging that the election result reflected the machines rather than the choice of voters.

The AJP's reaction followed an investigation by an English daily, which reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally raised objections at least 14 times over the past 10 months to decisions and orders they said had been taken without their knowledge. Their concerns reportedly covered the registration of new voters, deletion and restoration of names, and control over electoral roll databases and information technology systems.

AJP president Lurinjyoti Gogoi and general secretary Jagadish Bhuyan said the report had raised questions about the credibility of the electoral process.

"If such disagreements and objections exist within the Election Commission itself over processes as fundamental as the preparation and revision of electoral rolls, it naturally raises questions about the transparency and credibility of the entire electoral process," the leaders said in a statement.

The party alleged that the election result was a "verdict of the EVM, and not the people", and demanded that the Election Commission publicly clarify the concerns raised in the report.

The Election Commission, however, has said that differences of opinion among its members are part of institutional deliberation and maintained that decisions taken over the past year were unanimous decisions of the full commission.

The AJP said the reported disagreements could not be viewed merely as an internal matter of the poll panel, arguing that issues involving electoral rolls and voter databases have a direct bearing on public confidence in elections.

The party called for greater transparency and accountability in the functioning of the Election Commission and sought reforms to the electoral system. As part of these demands, it urged the poll panel to discontinue EVM-based voting and restore paper ballot voting.