The eviction-hit residents in Assam, who are existing voters, can apply for inclusion in the electoral rolls from their new address during the special revision (SR) of the voter list announced by the Election Commission.
Assam’s chief electoral officer, Anurag Goel, during a media interaction on Tuesday, said evicted or displaced people, who are already voters, are also ordinary residents of Assam.
“They need to apply from the place they are currently staying through Form 8 to get enrolled in the voters list. They need their existing voter details to apply for registration. If they don’t apply, they will have to be deleted,” Goel said.
He said even homeless persons or pavement dwellers without documentary proof of being ordinary residents are eligible for inclusion as per the EC guidelines. The minimum age for enrolment is 18 years.
Stressing on the purpose of the special revision, the Assam chief electoral officer said the SR exercise is carried out for the first time in the country and is aimed at ensuring inclusion of eligible voters and exclusion of ineligible voters.
Goel also asserted that the status of existing voters will not be affected due to the special revision while clarifying that the exercise launched from Tuesday is “not Special Intensive Revision (SIR)”, which will be conducted once the NRC process is completed.
The SR in Assam is being conducted ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls. The election schedule is likely to be announced in February.
All political parties had objected to the SIR in Assam till the National Register of Citizens (NRC) is finalised.
Goel’s clarification should come as a relief to the evicted people who have moved to new locations.
Since May 2021, around 50,000 people have been evicted from encroached government land. Some 1.5 lakh bighas (160 sqkm) have been cleared of encroachers, mostly Bengali-speaking Muslims.
Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had said in August that evicted persons will not figure in the voters list of the place from where they were residing illegally.
Goel said political parties have appointed 61,553 booth level agents (BLAs) across 29,656 polling stations. There will be 29,656 booth level officers (BLOs) appointed by the poll panel to help voters enroll or make corrections, among others. He added that the number of polling stations will rise by 1,862.
The final voter list will be published on February 10.