Congress Protests Against Alleged Irregularities in Assam Voter Lists

Congress Demonstrates Over Voter List Issues in Assam

Following the special revision of voter lists, the Assam unit of the Congress party staged protests against the Election Commission and the ruling BJP government, citing alleged irregularities in the draft voter lists. Hundreds of Congress workers, including members from the Assam Pradesh Mahila Congress (APMC) and Assam Pradesh Youth Congress (APYC), participated in the vigorous demonstrations, demanding action against what they termed as "vote theft."

Voter List Increases Amidst Controversy

According to the unified draft voter list published on December 30, there has been a 1.35% increase in the number of voters in Assam following the special revision conducted ahead of the assembly elections. The Guwahati city committee of the Assam Congress organized a sit-in protest near the secretariat. Pradyut Bhuyan, the general secretary of the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC), stated to reporters, "The irregularities in the voter list are aimed at helping the BJP regain power in Assam. The Election Commission is merely functioning for the BJP. Those involved in vote theft must be removed from power. We strongly condemn Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's attempts to return to power through vote theft."

Police Response to Protests

The police had barricaded the area around the Humanendra Sharma Complex, where the opposition party's office is located. However, the protesters managed to break through the barricades and took to the streets. After chanting slogans and demonstrating for a while, they eventually entered the complex, bringing the movement to a close. In response to the protests, the Chief Minister remarked, "This is a draft of the voter list, and typically, there are some errors in drafts. I do not believe there will be any mistakes in the final list. Issues such as repeated names or neighbors listed at the same address may appear, but these errors are usually corrected in the final list." The final voter list is set to be published on February 10.