Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has announced that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Assam will take place in a “very extensive and proper manner” following the upcoming Assembly elections. He emphasized that this coming SIR will be more comprehensive than the current Special Revision (SR) being conducted. Sarma noted his request for the Election Commission to initiate the SIR sooner; however, due to the non-publication of the National Register of Citizens (NRC), the commission opted for the SR at this time, which he acknowledged but preferred otherwise.
The Chief Minister’s comments arise in the context of the NRC’s unresolved status in Assam. The final NRC, released on August 31, 2019, excluded approximately 1.9 million individuals while confirming the inclusion of 31,121,004 names out of a total of 33,027,661 applications. This lack of formal notification regarding the NRC by the Registrar General of India influenced the Election Commission’s decision to proceed with an SR rather than an SIR.
Statistics from the ongoing Special Revision indicate that the draft electoral roll currently contains 25,201,624 electors, marking a 1.35 percent increase from the final roll published in January 2025. Over the past year, from January 6 to December 27, the electoral rolls recorded 786,841 additions and 447,196 deletions. During this revision process, officials recognized 478,992 deceased electors, 523,680 voters who had moved, and 53,619 instances of multiple entries. However, the Election Commission has stated that these discrepancies will not be corrected until formal applications are submitted during the designated claims and objections period. The final electoral roll for Assam is set to be published on February 10, 2026.
