Electoral roll draft under SR faces flak in Biswanath over alleged irregularities

Biswanath, Jan 16: The Assam Minority Student’s Union (AAMSU) on Friday alleged large-scale irregularities in the ongoing Special Revision (SR) of electoral rolls in Biswanath district, claiming that the names of several living persons were being deleted after being wrongly declared dead.

According to the organisation, the alleged irregularities have been reported from Polling Station No. 133 and areas under Chuwaguri Panchayat in the 70 No. Biswanath Assembly constituency.

Notices have reportedly been issued by election officials to the homes of over a hundred minority voters in connection with claims and objections raised during the SR process.

AAMSU alleged that arbitrary objections were being used to harass minority voters and warned that such practices would not be tolerated. The organisation demanded that the SR exercise be conducted in a transparent, clean and fair manner, free from any religious or communal discrimination.

It also called for the constitution of a special investigation team to maintain strict vigil over Booth Level Officers (BLOs).

“We have observed that minority voters are being harassed through claims and objections, with living persons being declared dead. The SR must be transparent, fair and just, and the Election Commission should keep strict vigil on BLOs,” said Nazir Ahmed, General Secretary of AAMSU.

He further said that the names of all legitimate Indian citizens must be included in the revised voter list, irrespective of whether they were included in the NRC or not. “Citizens whose names are not in the NRC but are valid Indian citizens should not be excluded,” Ahmed stated.

Ahmed added that a memorandum highlighting these concerns had already been submitted to the Biswanath District Commissioner.

He also warned that the unnecessary deletion of valid names could lead to unrest and urged the state government not to introduce communal or religious divisions through the SR process.

Reacting to the issue, AAMSU Central General Secretary Quddus Ali Sarkar alleged political interference in the electoral roll revision exercise and violations of SR norms.

“In some constituencies, objections have been raised against 10,000 to 20,000 voters. As per SR rules, bulk objections are not allowed. Yet, in Biswanath, we have found cases where dozens of objections were filed from a single booth in one day, with many living persons declared dead. Such objections must be rejected,” Sarkar said.

He further added that AAMSU had submitted memoranda to the Election Commission of India as well as district authorities across Assam, demanding immediate corrective action and warning against what it termed as attempts to selectively target minority voters during the SR process.