Assam Congress holds protest against electoral rolls, targets BJP

Guwahati: The Congress, on Tuesday, held a protest at the Manabendra Sharma Complex in Dispur, alleging large-scale irregularities in Assam's recently published draft electoral rolls and accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Election Commission of India (ECI) of attempting to influence the outcome of the forthcoming state Assembly elections through voter list manipulation.

The protest was organised by the Guwahati Metropolitan District Congress and saw the participation of several senior party leaders, including Assam Pradesh Mahila Congress President Mira Borthakur, ASsam Pradesh Congress Committee Media Department Chairman Bedabrata Bora, Youth Congress leaders and other party functionaries.

Addressing the gathering, Congress leaders described the draft electoral rolls as "deeply flawed", alleging that the names of unknown voters were being added to households of genuine residents, while eligible voters were being arbitrarily deleted.

They claimed that in multiple localities, unfamiliar names had appeared within a single family's voter list, raising serious concerns about the credibility and transparency of the electoral revision process.

The protest witnessed intense sloganeering against the BJP and the Election Commission, with party workers alleging a systematic attempt at "vote theft".

Police were deployed outside the complex to maintain the law and order as tensions briefly flared during the demonstration.

Leading the Mahila Congress contingent, Mira Borthakur alleged that the voter list revision exercise was being misused to engineer electoral outcomes instead of ensuring free and fair elections.

"We strongly condemn attempts to conduct the Assam Assembly elections through vote theft. The Election Commission is acting like a BJP Morcha. We will not allow elections to be held on the basis of error-filled voter lists," she said, demanding a CBI probe into the alleged role of Assam BJP President Dilip Saikia.

Youth Congress leaders echoed similar concerns, warning that the alleged discrepancies posed a serious threat to democratic rights in the state.

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

"What Rahul Gandhi had earlier flagged as vote theft is now visible on the ground. Elections should be fought on development and governance, not by manipulating voter lists," Younis said.

The Congress also drew parallels with allegations raised after the Bihar Assembly elections, claiming that a similar pattern was now being repeated in Assam following the publication of the draft rolls.

The BJP and the Assam government have rejected the allegations.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma reiterated that the preparation of electoral rolls falls solely under the jurisdiction of the Election Commission of India.

"There is time till January 22 to raise objections. Political parties should use institutional mechanisms instead of protests," CM Sarma said.