‘Special revision’ exercise to be held in Assam: ECI

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has ordered a Special Revision (SR) of the electoral rolls in Assam, with the pre-revision process beginning Tuesday

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has ordered a Special Revision (SR) of the electoral rolls in Assam, with the pre-revision process beginning Tuesday. A key feature of the directive is that entries of so-called D-Voters — individuals whose citizenship status is under adjudication — will be carried forward into the draft rolls without fresh verification unless a Foreigners’ Tribunal or court issues an order altering their status. The qualifying date for the revision is 1 January 2026, and the final electoral roll will be published on 10 February.

The qualifying date for the revision is 1 January 2026, and the final electoral roll will be published on 10 February. (AFP)

Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma took to X to welcome the decision. “ This will help ensure clean, updated and accurate electoral rolls for all eligible citizens”, he said, adding that the state will “extend full cooperation” to ECI to “complete the revision in a transparent and time-bound manner.”

The decision to opt for a Special Revision — positioned between a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and a Special Summary Revision (SSR) — follows several rounds of discussions between the Commission, the state government, and other stakeholders. The Commission considered the specific context of Assam, including issues related to the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the category of D-Voters, before finalising the method to be adopted.

EC officials gave the reasoning behind the special type of revision for assam (neither SIR nor SSR) and said, “There are special provisions for citizenship in the State of Assam. The verification of citizenship is already being done under the supervision of Hon’ble Supreme Court and is at the final stages. Therefore, special revision (SR) is being ordered in place of Special Intensive Revision (SIR).”

Under the order, pre-revision work will be carried out from Tuesday until Friday. Election officials will print required documents, train personnel, and prepare field-level materials. From 22 November to 20 December, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will undertake house-to-house verification. They will check existing entries, make corrections, identify citizens newly eligible to vote, and distribute and collect relevant enrolment and deletion forms. BLOs are required to revisit locked or closed households at least three times. They will also review photographs in the electoral database and replace unclear or non-human images using Form 8 for fresh photo collection.

The Commission has also outlined procedures for deletions. For deletions based on death, valid documentation must be provided. For deletions due to a change of residence, Form 8 is necessary, along with field verification. Electoral Registration Officials or EROs must conduct random checks covering at least 10% of the deletions. If deletions at any polling station exceed 2% of the total electors, or if more than five objections are filed by a single individual, the ERO must personally review the cases. Citizens may appeal deletion decisions under Section 24 of the Representation of the People Act, first to the District Magistrate and subsequently to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Assam.

To assess the condition of the electoral roll, EROs will compile statistical formats — Formats 1 to 8 — both before and after the revision. These include data on gender ratio, the number of electors aged 18-19, EPIC (Voter ID) coverage, and image quality. Before granting approval for the final publication of the roll, the Commission requires the CEO to submit these analyses along with a certificate confirming that duplicate entries have been removed and cases involving deceased or relocated electors have been resolved.

The Commission has clarified the distinctions between the SR and other revision types such as SIR and SSR. Under SIR, election authorities distribute printed enumeration forms to every elector for fresh documentation and verification, including submission of identity and citizenship-related documents such as passport, caste certificate, or marksheet. Under SR and SSR, officials use house-to-house verification based on pre-filled registers, relying on Forms 6, 7, and 8 for additions, deletions, and corrections. In the SR, particular emphasis has been placed on replacing non-compliant photographs, using system-generated reports to identify missing, non-human, or black-and-white images.

The Commission’s order states that D-Voter entries will be retained in the draft roll without fresh house-to-house verification. Their status will change only when a Foreigners’ Tribunal or court issues an order. Fresh photographic verification for these electors is not required unless their legal status changes.

Other procedural safeguards include multi-level scrutiny of modifications, field verification, and random sampling by Additional Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs). Detailed records of all changes must be maintained. The requirement for CEOs to certify photographic coverage and submit statistical formats is intended to ensure accountability before the final roll is published.

Last month, the Commission directed Special Intensive Revisions in Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Puducherry, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Lakshadweep. Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala, Assam, and West Bengal will hold Assembly elections in 2026.