Voters Drop Across Bihar & Bengal, But Assam Shows a Surprise Rise. How?

Assam: In many states of the country, there has been a huge reduction in the number of voters after Special Intensive Revision (SIR). In areas like Bihar, Bengal, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh, 6 to 14 percent of names have been removed. In such an environment, the figures of Assam are shocking to everyone. Here's the reverse after the voter list update—the number of voters has increased by 1.35 percent.

Why is the figure of increase in Assam so important?

According to the draft roll released by the Chief Electoral Officer of Assam, the number of women in the state has slightly surpassed that of men.

• Male: 1.25 crore
• Women: 1.26 crore

This not only points to the change in demography but also shows that the process of adding voters here was very fast this time.  The important thing is that SIR did not happen in Assam. Only a special revision was done here, in which dead, shifted, and duplicate names were identified on the basis of documents, but the process of deletion was not done immediately.

Why did Assam not have SIR like other states?

In Assam, a different approach was adopted regarding the voter list process. The reason for this is the NRC (National Register of Citizens) and sensitive issues related to citizenship. NRC is still incomplete under the supervision of the Supreme Court. In such a situation, strict action by SIR directly on the voter list could have increased the risk of legal disputes or dual processes. For this reason the Election Commission adopted a different system here.

According to the Chief Election Commissioner, there are separate provisions for Assam under the Citizenship Act; hence, both the rules and the speed of removal of names were kept different here as compared to other states.

How many names were added and removed?

From January 6 to December 27:

• Newly added names: 7.86 lakh
• Names removed: 4.47 lakh
• That is, direct benefit: about 3.4 lakh new voters.

It is from here that there has been an increase in the total figures.

But there is another layer behind this, which complicates the picture.

One lakh names marked, but no final cut yet

The situation that emerged during door-to-door verification is shocking:

Category                          Number

Dead voters:                     4.79 lakh

shift somewhere else       5.24 lakh

Questionable/Duplicate    53,619

All these names have not been removed from the draft list yet. Why?

Because under the law—Representation Act 1950—it is mandatory to file Form 7 to remove someone's name. Until this happens, the Election Commission cannot delete these names unilaterally. That is, the figures appear bigger in Assam because 10 lakh suspicious names are still present in the list, whereas in the SIR states, such entries have been automatically removed.

What's next?

• SIR = strict cleanliness in rest of the states, decline in numbers
• Special Revision in Assam = slow deduction as per legal process
• Result: 1.35% increase

The increased figure of Assam is not a direct indication of infiltration or population explosion, but a difference in process and provisions. The picture may change after Form-7.