Lakhs of ‘doubtful voters’ deleted from Assam rolls after BJP complaints: Himanta Biswa Sarma

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on February 11 said that lakhs of “doubtful voters” were deleted from the state’s electoral rolls during the Special Revision (SR) exercise, following complaints lodged by BJP workers.

Addressing a press conference, Sarma claimed that party workers had filed over 2.43 lakh objections against names included in the draft electoral rolls published ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections. He said these objections led to the removal of a significant number of alleged doubtful voters.

“The deletions were made based on complaints by BJP workers during the Special Revision,” Sarma said, adding that the process was carried out as per election norms.

He further announced that a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls will be conducted beginning January next year, indicating that the exercise of updating and scrutinising voter lists will continue.

The Chief Minister maintained that despite what he described as threats and intimidation, BJP activists pursued their complaints against suspicious entries in the rolls. “At the end of claims and objections, the final electoral roll was published in Assam with a total of 2.49 crore voters, a decrease by 0.97 per cent from the draft list,” he said.

Reiterating his government’s position on illegal immigration, Sarma said action against “illegal Bangladeshi Muslim immigrants” would continue.

The final electoral roll was published on Tuesday as the state prepares for Assembly elections in the coming months.