Assam Opposition Parties Accuse BJP of Voter Manipulation Ahead of Elections
Allegations of Electoral Roll Manipulation
On Friday, five opposition parties in Assam lodged a police complaint against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), alleging a conspiracy to remove numerous legitimate voters from the electoral rolls, as reported by a local news source.
The parties involved include Congress, Raijor Dal, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), and the Assam Jatiya Parishad.
The complaint was submitted at the Dispur police station in Guwahati.
According to the opposition, Dilip Saikia, the Assam BJP president and MP, is implicated in this alleged scheme, instructing party MLAs to facilitate the removal of names of 'anti-BJP voters' across at least 60 of the state's 126 Assembly constituencies.
These claims surfaced during the 'special revision' of electoral rolls in Assam, which is taking place in preparation for the upcoming Assembly elections anticipated in March-April.
On December 27, the Election Commission announced that over 10 lakh voters were identified for deletion following a house-to-house verification process as part of this special revision. The final voter list is set to be released on February 10.
Unlike 12 other states and Union Territories, Assam is not undergoing a special intensive revision. Instead, on November 17, the Election Commission instructed the state’s chief electoral officer to carry out a 'special revision' of the electoral rolls.
The verification process occurred between November 22 and December 20 and did not include document checks, differing from the special intensive revision.
In their complaint, the opposition parties claimed that Saikia had discussed the deletion process with Health Minister Ashok Singhal during an online meeting on January 4.
They requested the police to obtain footage from this meeting and to take action against those responsible for ensuring a transparent special revision in the state.
Additionally, Akhil Gogoi, the Raijor Dal leader and Sivasagar MLA, reached out to the Election Commission on Friday, calling for an independent investigation into the January 4 meeting, which he alleged was aimed at 'voter list management.'
Gogoi urged the poll panel to secure all digital communications related to the BJP's alleged directive to delete '10,000 votes per constituency' and demanded an audit of Form 7 applications submitted in the last three months. He also called for a halt to the 'special revision' process until the issue is addressed.
Form 7 is utilized to contest the inclusion of individuals on the voter list.
The BJP has dismissed these allegations.
Party spokesperson Jayanta Kumar Goswami accused Gogoi of misrepresenting the situation regarding the deletion of names during the revision process.
He stated that over 11,000 individuals were removed following an eviction drive in the Uriamghat area of the Sarupathar Assembly constituency in Golaghat district. During the ongoing special revision, names of approximately 11,000 individuals from that constituency were also deleted.
Goswami further alleged that the opposition's police complaint was an attempt to engage in 'Miya appeasement,' referring to a derogatory term for Bengali-speaking Muslims.