Assam to release final voters list for by-elections on August 8

Assam Chief Electoral Officer Anurag Goel has announced that the final voters’ list for the upcoming by-elections in five constituencies will be released on August 8.

At a press conference on Friday, Goel gave a detailed account of the planning and preparations for the by-elections in Dholai (SC), Sidli (ST), Bongaigaon, Behali and Samaguri constituencies. These seats fell vacant when the previous MLAs were elected to the Lok Sabha.

Goel stressed that the Election Commission has started preparations for the by-elections, which are to be held within six months of the Lok Sabha election results. He stressed that these elections would be based on the status of the constituencies before delimitation.

The recent Lok Sabha elections were the first after a controversial delimitation exercise in Assam, which was criticized by opposition parties as biased in favor of the ruling BJP. The election department will share the provisional electoral rolls of the constituencies with recognized political parties on Saturday ahead of the delimitation exercise, seeking their feedback by July 27. The provisional electoral rolls will be published on July 30 and the public can file claims and objections till August 10.

Due to recent updates for the Lok Sabha polls, claims and objections are being processed offline this time. After processing the submissions on August 19, the final voters list will be published on August 20, Goel said.

By-elections to the five Assembly constituencies in Assam are being held on the basis of pre-delimitation constituencies, as per the rules of the Election Commission of India (ECI). The delimitation exercise in Assam last year did not change the number of Parliament and Assembly constituencies, which remained at 14 and 126 respectively, but their areas and boundaries changed.