A fresh political debate has started in Assam after Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly, Debabrata Saikia, wrote to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar alleging serious problems in the draft electoral rolls published after a Special Revision ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections. Saikia has asked the Election Commission to stop the finalisation of the voter list until all the reported issues are checked and solved. In his letter, Saikia said that there were “unknown” and unauthorised names appearing in the rolls. He said these concerns were based on news reports as well as feedback from the ground, which suggested that proper verification had not been followed. According to him, there were cases where people who do not speak Assamese had been included without verification, and in some homes, names were added without the knowledge of the actual residents.He mentioned specific examples in Guwahati, saying that four non-Assamese people were listed as voters at House Nos. 44 and 15 on Tayabulla Road even though the families living there were not aware of it.
He also said that voter names had been entered against a “Household No. 00” in the Nazira constituency, which does not exist. Saikia warned that if such entries remain undetected, they could allow unknown persons to vote on polling day, which would weaken trust in the electoral process.The Congress leader said these issues are not just technical matters, but also affect democracy and the constitutional rights of the people of Assam. He linked the matter to earlier complaints by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi about possible vote manipulation, saying this could be part of a wider problem. Saikia also pointed out that more than 10 lakh names have already been removed from the rolls for different reasons, but new discrepancies show that the entire revision exercise may have been affected.He said the alleged problems go against Clause 6 of the Assam Accord and also ignore Supreme Court directions meant to protect the identity and rights of the people of Assam. Saikia requested the Election Commission to carry out a transparent inquiry and make the findings public. He also said that the final voter list should not be published until all wrong entries are removed and verification becomes stronger and more uniform across the state.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma dismissed these allegations. He said there is already a clear system for making corrections and objections. Anyone with concerns, he said, could submit Forms 6, 7 and 8 to add, delete or correct names in the rolls. He added that instead of making statements in the media, the Opposition should use the proper procedure if it believes there are genuine issues. According to figures released by the Election Commission, Assam’s voter numbers have gone up by 1.35 per cent. The draft roll published on December 30 shows a total electorate of 2,52,01,624. From January 6 to December 27 last year, there were 7,86,841 new additions and 4,47,196 deletions. The Special Revision process also identified 4,78,992 deceased voters, 5,23,680 shifted voters and 53,619 multiple entries.However, the Commission clarified that these names will only be removed after formal applications are processed during the claims and objections period, which is open from December 27 to January 22. Special campaign dates have been set for January 3–4 and January 10–11. The final voter list is expected to be published on February 10.