“Election Commission Reduced to a Puppet of the BJP”: Congress

The Assam Pradesh Congress Committee today launched a sharp attack on the BJP government and the Election Commission, alleging a “dangerous conspiracy” to manipulate electoral rolls in the State through large-scale irregularities in the ongoing Special Summary Revision (SSR) process.

Addressing a press conference at Rajiv Bhavan, Dhubri Lok Sabha MPRakibul Hussain and former Rajya Sabha MP Ripun Bora claimed that Assam was witnessing the same pattern of voter manipulation allegedly seen earlier in States like Maharashtra, Haryana and Karnataka.

Rakibul Hussain alleged that despite assurances from the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Assam that the SSR would be conducted like a routine annual revision, the ground reality was entirely different. He said Booth Level Supervisors were kept in the dark while draft electoral rolls were prepared, leading to confusion and irregularities during the claims and objections process.

He further alleged large-scale misuse of Forms 6, 7 and 8, and said the Election Commission had violated its own rules by allowing a single individual to file objections against multiple voters. “Rules allow only individual objections, yet one person has been used to raise objections against many. This itself raises serious questions,” Hussain said.

Targeting Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Hussain alleged that objections were being raised with the intention of deleting genuine voters and bringing in people from outside the State. He also claimed that political parties were not being informed weekly about claims and objections, as mandated by Election Commission guidelines.

“None of the rules are being followed. The Election Commission is watching everything but choosing to remain a silent spectator,” Hussain alleged, calling the situation unconstitutional and unethical.

Former MP Ripun Bora accused the BJP of reducing the Election Commission to a “puppet”. He said the draft electoral rolls published in late December and early January showed almost no difference, making it extremely difficult to detect changes or seek corrections.

Bora pointed out that details of newly added voters, deleted names of deceased voters, and transferred voters were not reflected together in the draft roll. According to him, the Election Commission’s explanation that these details would only be included in the final roll defeats the very purpose of objections.

“How can people apply for corrections if they cannot even see what has been changed?” Bora asked. He warned that once the final electoral roll is published on February 10, there would be virtually no scope for correction. “If thousands of new voters are added quietly in each constituency, no one will even be able to detect it,” he said.

Bora also referred to reports of an alleged online meeting in which the BJP’s Assam president reportedly instructed party leaders to identify voters who did not support the BJP. He questioned why the Election Commission has not issued any clarification so far, even if the reports were incorrect.

Raising further concerns, Bora alleged that Booth Level Officers (BLOs) are being replaced midway through their work in several areas, allegedly because they refused to act under political pressure. He also claimed that BLOs belonging to particular communities were being selectively removed.

Citing examples from Guwahati, Bora alleged serious irregularities at polling booths in Dispur, where additional voters were included in certain households without the owners’ knowledge, while entire families were missing from voter lists at other booths.

The Congress leaders announced that a memorandum highlighting these issues will be submitted to the Chief Electoral Officer of Assam on January 9.

They also said the party would demand a forensic investigation into the controversial video conference episode involving BJP leaders. A joint delegation of opposition parties is expected to meet the Chief Election Commissioner in New Delhi in the coming days.

Also Read: “Time to Raise Alarm Over Voter List Manipulation,” Says Congress Spokesperson