New Delhi, November 18: The Election Commission of India (ECI) is set to conduct a special revision of electoral rolls in poll-bound Assam over the next two-and-a-half months, a process that will differ significantly from the usual summary revisions carried out annually. According to Assam Chief Election Officer (CEO) Anurag Goel, this revision is unique to Assam because of its “peculiar” situation: the state has completed an updated National Register of Citizens (NRC) in 2019, but the final list is still not notified by the Registrar General of India (RGI). This special revision, however, will not require voters to fill any enumeration forms and is not expected to affect individuals already listed in the rolls.

Instead, the focus will be on physical verification and updating entries to ensure that every eligible citizen is counted, while preventing the inclusion of ineligible individuals. The revision is timed ahead of the 2026 Assam Assembly elections, with the final electoral roll expected on February 10. SIR Phase II: 97.5% Enumeration Forms Distributed in SIR of Electoral Rolls, Says Election Commission.

What Is the Special Revision Process?

The core of the exercise will be house-to-house verification conducted by Booth Level Officers (BLOs), who will physically verify data across all 29,656 polling stations in the state. This verification drive will run from November 22 to December 20.

BLOs will carry printed registers containing the names of all existing voters in each household. They will interact with the head of the family to note down any updates such as deaths, migration to another constituency, or new eligible voters. If new voters are identified, Form 6 will be filled on the spot, with documents required only to establish their relationship with existing voters in the family. To ensure accuracy, BLOs will return to a house at least three times if no one is available during earlier visits. West Bengal SIR Exercise: How To Submit Enumeration Form Online? Know Steps and Website To Download and Fill Special Intensive Revision Forms Online.

Rationalising Polling Stations

Alongside the revision, a parallel exercise will rationalise polling stations according to ECI guidelines. The previous cap of 1,500 voters per station has been reduced to 1,200, resulting in the need for 1,826 new polling stations across Assam. Once both exercises are complete, the draft electoral roll will be published on December 27, followed by a window for claims and objections until January 22, and the release of the final roll on February 10.

Why Not a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Assam?

While the ECI mandated Special Intensive Revisions (SIR) in several states this year, Assam will not undergo a full SIR because of its completed but unnotified NRC. The Assam government had informed the ECI that since the state has already undertaken an exhaustive citizenship verification process through the NRC, this should be factored into future SIR planning.

With the NRC still pending official notification and appeals yet to commence, a full-fledged SIR would be premature. Anurag Goel said the NRC issue is expected to be resolved by August 2026, after which a comprehensive SIR could be undertaken. Political parties in Assam have also agreed to this timeline.

Will Existing Voters Be Affected?

According to the CEO, existing voters are unlikely to face difficulties. Their residency status will be presumed valid even in cases where families have been displaced due to eviction drives. Such voters must update their address using Form 8, even if they are living temporarily in camps or other districts.

The state currently has 94,277 D-voters whose cases are pending before Foreigners’ Tribunals; their names will be carried forward without change, with any modification allowed only upon tribunal or court orders.

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