Assam polls 2026: Congress terms EC BJP's puppet, questions voter list revision

The Congress party has accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of conspiring to delete the names of opposition supporters from the electoral rolls in Assam under the pretext of voter list revision before the 2026 Assembly elections.

The party also questioned the neutrality of the Election Commission (EC), claiming that it had become a "puppet" at the hands of the ruling party.

Addressing a press conference, Congress national spokesperson Charan Singh Sapra accused the EC of initiating a massive revision of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar without any public briefing or transparency, and alleged that it was doing so by "imposing authoritarian pressure on citizens.

Claiming that the EC has "started playing hide-and-seek with the public", he questioned, "Why did the Election Commission not hold consultations with various stakeholders before launching such a massive operation?"

"The Commission is meant to be a neutral umpire, but it has now become a player itself — playing for the ruling party," he maintained.

Former MP and state party leader Ripun Bora, who was also present at the press meet, claimed that similar to Maharashtra and Bihar, "the BJP is using the EC in Assam to delete the names of Congress supporters from the voter list in the name of cleansing or 'revision'."

Referring to the upcoming Bihar elections, Bora said, "In order to avoid an anticipated defeat, BJP has conspired to drop the names of people supporting the Congress and RJD from the voter list under the so-called 'Intensive Revision' process."

Bora cited the example of Maharashtra, where between April-May 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the November Assembly elections, 47 lakh new voters were added within just six months.

"In 50 constituencies, over 50,000 voters were added in each. Investigations revealed that these additions were made with the organised inclusion of BJP supporters from neighbouring states to manipulate the outcome," he claimed.

He expressed concern that a similar scenario may unfold in Assam.

He alleged that the BJP has started issuing notices to voters suspected as "D-voters" or foreigners, many of whom are traditional Congress supporters, thereby attempting to strip them of their voting rights.

The Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) has already begun training Block Level Agents (BLAs) to vigilantly counter such conspiracies, Bora said.

The party also urged the EC not to support the BJP's undemocratic attempts to manipulate the electoral process in Assam.