Opposition Flags Voter Roll Discrepancies, Congress Holds Protest in Dispur

The Congress on Tuesday staged a strong protest at the Manabendra Sharma complex in Dispur, alleging large-scale irregularities in Assam’s draft electoral rolls and accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Election Commission of India (ECI) of manipulating voter lists to influence the outcome of the upcoming Assam Assembly elections.

The protest, organised by the Guwahati Metropolitan District Congress, saw participation from senior leaders, including Assam Pradesh Mahila Congress president Mira Borthakur, Media Department chairman Bedabrata Bora, Youth Congress leaders, and other party functionaries.

Calling the draft electoral rolls “deeply flawed, the protesters alleged that unknown voters were being added to the households of genuine residents, while the names of eligible voters were being removed.

Congress leaders claimed that in several areas, unfamiliar names had appeared within a single family’s voter list, raising serious concerns over the credibility of the electoral process.

The demonstration witnessed strong sloganeering against the BJP and the Election Commission, with protesters terming the alleged discrepancies a systematic attempt at vote theft. Tensions briefly flared outside the complex as police were deployed to manage the gathering.

Leading the Mahila Congress contingent, Mira Borthakur alleged that the voter list revision exercise was being used to engineer electoral outcomes rather than ensure free and fair polls.

“We strongly condemn the BJP’s attempts to push the Assam Assembly elections through vote theft. The Election Commission is functioning like a BJP morcha. We will not allow elections to be conducted on the basis of error-filled voter lists,” Borthakur said, demanding a CBI probe into the alleged role of Assam BJP president Dilip Saikia.

Echoing similar concerns, leaders of the Youth Congress warned that the alleged irregularities posed a direct threat to democratic rights in the state.

Iftekhar Younis, General Secretary of the Media Department, APCC, alleged that during the Special Revision process, voters from other states were being registered in Assam, while genuine Assamese voters were being excluded.

“Rahul Gandhi had earlier raised the issue of vote theft. What we are witnessing now is the inclusion of voters from outside Assam in our constituencies. This conspiracy must stop,” Younis said. He added that elections should be fought on development and governance, not by manipulating voter lists.

The Congress also pointed out that similar allegations were raised after the Bihar elections, where the party had accused the BJP of misusing the SIR process to influence voter rolls. According to the party, the same pattern is now being repeated in Assam following the publication of the latest draft electoral rolls.

The BJP and the state government have rejected the allegations. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has maintained that the preparation of electoral rolls is the sole responsibility of the Election Commission of India and that political parties have no role in drafting them.

“The full responsibility of the voters’ list lies with the ECI. We have no say in it. There is time till January 22 to submit objections, and we will also file our complaints,” Sarma said during a press briefing in Guwahati on Monday, urging political parties to use institutional mechanisms instead of street protests.

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