Assam Assembly Polls Likely Before Bihu, Says CEC Gyanesh Kumar

The Chief Election Commissioner of India, Gyanesh Kumar, on Wednesday said that the Election Commission will take into account the emotional significance of Bihu for the people of Assam while announcing the schedule for the upcoming Assembly elections.

Addressing a press conference in Guwahati, Kumar indicated that the electoral process in Assam could conclude before Bihu. The briefing followed a series of high-level meetings held as part of the Election Commission of India’s ongoing review of poll preparedness in the state.

“Bihu is an emotion for the Assamese people. Everyone wants the elections to be concluded before Bihu. The Election Commission will consider that before coming to a decision,” Kumar said.

ECI Team's Assam Visit

The Commission and senior officials had arrived in Assam on Monday for a two-day visit to assess preparations for the general elections to the 126-member Legislative Assembly and to ensure the conduct of free and fair polls.

The Commission’s delegation included Election Commissioners Dr SS Sandhu and Dr Vivek Joshi, Senior Deputy Election Commissioners Maneesh Garg and Dr Pawan Kumar Sharma, Director General Ashish Goyal, Advisor NN Butolia and Director Bidyarani Konthoujam. Meetings were convened at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Guwahati.

In the morning session, the Commission reviewed enforcement preparedness in a meeting with heads and nodal officers of various agencies, including the Income Tax Department, Narcotics and Excise, among others. In the afternoon, a review meeting was held with the Chief Electoral Officer of Assam, the State Police Nodal Officer and representatives of the Central Armed Police Forces.

A separate meeting was also conducted with the Chief Secretary of Assam, the Director General of Police and other senior officials of the Government of Assam to assess administrative and security arrangements.

As part of its outreach initiatives, the Commission interacted with state SVEEP icon Rakesh Banik and nearly 100 Booth Level Officers (BLOs). During the visit, CEC Gyanesh Kumar distributed Electors Photo Identity Cards (EPIC) to two newly enrolled voters.

CEC's Presser

Calling for wholehearted participation in the polls, Kumar described the elections as a “festival of democracy.”

“The way we celebrate festivals, let’s celebrate this mega festival of democracy in the same way. Everyone should fulfil their responsibility towards democracy. Everyone should come out to vote,” he said.

On the Special Revision (SR) process, Kumar said its objective was to ensure that no eligible voter is left out and that no ineligible individual’s name is added to the electoral roll.

Providing details of the electoral landscape, he said Assam has 126 Assembly constituencies, of which 19 are reserved for Scheduled Tribes and nine for Scheduled Castes. The final voter list comprises 2.49 crore electors.

There will be 31,486 polling stations across the state, with web-casting facilities at every station. No polling station will have more than 1,200 votes polled, he said.

Among these, 126 will be model polling stations, while 3,716 will be entirely women-operated. Around two lakh divyangjan voters are expected to cast their votes this term. Over one lakh voters are above the age of 85, and 2,586 voters are above 100 years of age. The number of first-time voters stands at approximately 5.75 lakh.

“If any eligible voter has been left out, they can apply through Form-6. They can apply to the district electoral officer. The Election Commission will run special campaigns in colleges to attract young voters,” Kumar added.

He also said that voters will have to leave their mobile phones outside polling booths. Election-related information, including voter turnout and other data, can be accessed by downloading the ECINET app.

Highlighting stakeholder engagement, Kumar said that 4,719 all-party meetings have been organised in the last 11 months, with over 28,000 party representatives participating.

He further stated that every district commissioner and superintendent of police has been instructed to work in coordination with all agencies involved to ensure the successful conduct of the elections.

The names of central observers will be confirmed soon, he said, adding that the Election Commission will maintain close surveillance of social media platforms to monitor false or AI-generated content.