Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on February 4 said the state will carry out a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in a far more detailed and systematic manner after the conclusion of the Assembly elections. He maintained that the proposed exercise would be more comprehensive than the Special Revision currently underway.
Addressing reporters following an official programme in Sonari, Sarma said Assam is presently undergoing a Special Revision (SR) of voter lists, but a full-scale SIR would be taken up later. He explained that he had earlier urged the Election Commission to initiate the intensive revision immediately, but the poll body opted for a Special Revision due to the unresolved status of the National Register of Citizens (NRC). “Once elections are over, the SIR will be conducted very extensively and properly. We welcome this process,” the Chief Minister said.
Sarma linked the decision to the pending notification of the NRC, which was published in its final form on August 31, 2019, but has not yet been officially notified by the Registrar General of India. The NRC excluded over 19 lakh applicants, while more than 3.11 crore names were included out of the total 3.30 crore applicants. According to the Chief Minister, the lack of formal notification influenced the Election Commission’s move to conduct a Special Revision instead of a Special Intensive Revision at this stage.
Official figures show that the draft electoral roll prepared after the ongoing revision lists 2,52,01,624 electors, reflecting a 1.35 per cent increase compared to the final roll published in January 2025. Between January 6 and December 27 last year, authorities recorded nearly 7.87 lakh new additions and over 4.47 lakh deletions.
During the verification process, officials identified close to 4.79 lakh deceased voters, more than 5.23 lakh electors who had changed their place of residence, and over 53,000 cases of duplicate entries. However, the Election Commission clarified that these names have not yet been removed and that deletions or corrections will only be made after formal applications are submitted during the claims and objections phase.
The final electoral roll for Assam is scheduled to be published on February 10, 2026, following the completion of the ongoing revision process.
