Guwahati: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has directed a special revision of Assam’s electoral rolls, setting January 1, 2026, as the qualifying date for updating the state’s voter list ahead of next year’s Assembly elections.
In fresh instructions issued to the Chief Electoral Officer on Monday, the ECI said door-to-door verification of voters will be carried out from November 22 to December 20.
The draft electoral roll will be released on December 27, followed by the publication of the final list on February 10, 2026.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma welcomed the decision, calling it a step towards ensuring “clean, updated and accurate electoral rolls for all eligible citizens”.
He said the Assam government would extend full cooperation to the Commission to complete the exercise “in a transparent and time-bound manner”.
The move comes weeks after Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar announced a special intensive revision of voter rolls in 12 states and Union Territories on October 27.
However, Assam was excluded at the time due to separate provisions under the Citizenship Act, with the Commission stating a separate order would follow.
For the 12 states and UTs — including Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Puducherry, all scheduled for elections in 2026 — enumeration began on November 4.
Their draft lists will be published on December 9 and final rolls on February 7.
The special revision exercise has also come under legal scrutiny.
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The Supreme Court has sought the ECI’s response to petitions challenging the revision in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, with the matter listed for hearing on November 26.
The process has already raised concerns after Bihar’s revision, completed in September ahead of its elections, saw nearly 47 lakh voters excluded from the updated roll.
Several petitioners have approached the Supreme Court alleging that such revisions risk removing eligible voters.
The ECI has maintained that the intensive revision is intended to clean voter lists by removing deceased voters, duplicate entries and undocumented migrants, insisting that due procedure is being followed.
