Sushmita Dev Writes to Election Commission Over Suspicion of Mass Voter Deletions During Special Revision

Rajya Sabha MP Sushmita Dev has raised serious concerns over the ongoing Special Revision (SR) of Electoral Rolls in Assam, alleging that the process is hurried, poorly coordinated and could lead to wrongful deletion of genuine voters.

In a letter addressed to the Election Commission of India, dated January 23, Dev pointed out that large numbers of objections have been filed under Form 7 after the draft electoral roll was published on December 27, 2025. With the objection-filing window closing on January 22, 2026. The hearings are scheduled to conclude by February 2, ahead of final publication on February 10, 2026.

The MP alleged that objections were filed in bulk in several areas, often by individuals who are reportedly untraceable or have denied submitting such complaints. She cited representations from Masughat under Borkhola LAC, where locals have alleged that one individual filed multiple Form 7 objections with alleged malicious intent to harass genuine voters.

Referring to official data available on the website of the Chief Electoral Officer, Assam, Dev highlighted the scale of objections, noting that Silchar LAC alone reportedly received around 15,304 objections, while thousands more were recorded in Katigorah, Mangaldoi, Jorhat and Hajo constituencies, among others.

Dev further questioned why data from the National Register of Citizens (NRC) has not been correlated with the voter revision exercise. She stated that the NRC, published on August 31, 2019, has neither been formally notified nor set aside, despite having been prepared under the supervision of the Supreme Court. She argued that excluding names from the voters’ list without NRC correlation could result in grave injustice, especially when those excluded from the NRC have not been provided any effective legal remedy.

Calling the SR exercise “extremely haphazard,” Dev warned that the limited timeframe makes it practically impossible to serve notices and conduct fair hearings for all affected voters, potentially depriving citizens of their democratic right to vote.

In her letter, the MP requested the Election Commission to extend the hearing and disposal period by at least seven days,
Ensure NRC-listed names are retained in the final electoral roll, and prevent any regressive action against individuals excluded from the NRC until the process is legally finalised, as per Supreme Court observations.

She also expressed concern that the situation has created panic and distress among voters across Assam, urging the Commission to intervene to ensure transparency, fairness and due process in the Special Revision exercise.