The Election Commission of India (ECI) has clarified why Assam has been excluded from the first phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, even as the nationwide voter list update begins in 12 other states and Union Territories.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said that Assam has unique legal provisions relating to citizenship verification, and a similar drive has already been carried out in the state under the supervision of the Supreme Court.
“There are separate provisions for Assam’s citizenship under the law, and a verification process of valid citizens has already been completed under the Supreme Court’s observation. Therefore, separate orders for SIR in Assam will be issued later,” Kumar said during a press briefing.
The Commission noted that applying the same SIR schedule to Assam would not be appropriate at this stage, given its ongoing citizenship-linked documentation process.
Meanwhile, the first phase of the SIR will be implemented across 12 states and Union Territories from November 4, covering more than 51 crore voters. The printing and training phases are scheduled between October 28 and November 3.
The ECI added that Assam will receive specific directives for voter list revision once the necessary legal and administrative assessments are completed.
