Guwahati, February 11 Most of the districts in Assam with a Muslim majority registered an increase in the number of voters in the final list published after the Special Revision (SR) compared to the draft roll, while other districts, including those with a higher tribal population, largely recorded a decrease.
According to data shared on the website of the state chief electoral officer, out of the 35 districts in the state, 24 recorded a decrease in the final voter figures, while only 11 registered an increase. The change in the figures ranged from a few hundred to over 30,000.
The number of electors in the three hill districts and the five districts under the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR), with a majority tribal population, declined, as did the two Kamrup districts – Kamrup and Kamrup (Metropolitan) in which Guwahati is located.
While two of the three Barak Valley districts saw a decrease in the final electoral roll, one reported an increase.
Out of the four districts in the central part of the state, all of which have a sizable Muslim population, two saw a rise in the voter figure in the final list compared to the draft roll.
The Election Commission had published the final voter list for the upcoming elections in Assam on Tuesday, with over 2.43 lakh names deleted from the draft rolls.
Following the claims and objections process during the SR, the final roll has a total of 2.49 crore voters, a decrease of 0.97 per cent from the draft roll.
The number of voters in the final list in Muslim-majority districts of western or lower Assam, such as Dhubri, South Salmara, Goalpara, and Barpeta, has increased, with a rise in the range of around 200 in South Salmara to over 25,000 in Barpeta.
Similarly, in central Assam, Darrang and Hojai recorded a decrease, while Morigaon and Nagaon saw an increase in the number of voters.
Of the three Barak Valley districts in the southern part, which are predominantly Bengali-speaking with a sizable population of both Hindus and Muslims, Cachar and Sribhumi reported a decrease in the voter number, while Hailakandi showed an increase.
The three hill districts, Dima Hasao, Karbi Anglong, and West Karbi Anglong, which are under the Sixth Schedule, reported a decrease in the number of voters in the final list.
The five districts under the BTR, also under the Sixth Schedule, also saw a decrease in the electoral strength compared to the draft roll.
Kamrup and Kamrup (Metropolitan), which has the state's largest city, Guwahati, also recorded a decrease in the final electoral roll.
Among the 11 districts located in eastern or upper Assam and adjoining northern banks of the Brahmaputra, as many as 10 saw the number of voters going down after the SR.
Only Majuli registered an increase of about 100 voters in the final list.
The SR exercise had stirred much controversy in the state, with opposition parties alleging that it was being used for "vote theft" and genuine citizens, particularly of a religious minority community, were being harassed during the process.
The CM had earlier indicated that only 'Miyas' were being served notices during the SR process as a tactic to "keep them under pressure", and said that more than 5 lakh complaints were filed by BJP workers against "illegal Bangladeshis".
'Miya' is originally a pejorative term used for Bengali-speaking Muslims in Assam, and non-Bengali speakers generally identify them as Bangladeshi immigrants. In recent years, activists from the community have started adopting this term as a gesture of defiance.