Assam to announce final voter list on August 8 for by-elections

The Chief Electoral Officer of Assam, Anurag Goel has announced that the final voter list for the upcoming by-elections in five assembly constituencies will be released on August 8.

During a press conference on Friday, Goel detailed the schedule and preparations for the by-elections in the Dholai (SC), Sidli (ST), Bongaigaon, Behali, and Samaguri constituencies. These seats became vacant as the previous MLAs were elected to the Lok Sabha.

Goel emphasized that the Election Commission has commenced preparations for the by-elections, which must occur within six months of the Lok Sabha election results. He highlighted that these elections would be based on the pre-delimitation status of the constituencies.

The recent Lok Sabha elections were the first after a contentious delimitation exercise in Assam, criticized by opposition parties as biased towards the ruling BJP. The Election Department will share pre-draft electoral rolls of the pre-delimitation constituencies with recognized political parties on Saturday, seeking their feedback by July 27. The draft voter lists will be published on July 30, and the public can submit claims and objections until August 10.

Due to recent updates for the Lok Sabha polls, claims and objections will be processed offline this time. After handling the submissions by August 19, the final voter list will be published on August 20, according to Goel.

By-elections to the five Assembly constituencies in Assam will be held based on the pre-delimitation constituencies, as per Election Commission of India (ECI) rules. The delimitation in Assam last year did not change the number of Parliamentary and Assembly constituencies, which remained at 14 and 126, respectively, but did alter their areas and boundaries.