1.2 lakh doubtful voters' in Assam: Election Commission
Sahu also said an elaborate security plan was being drawn up and around 33 companies of Central paramilitary forces had arrived in the state.
Guwahati: Assam’s chief electoral officer Mukesh Sahu said on Monday that there were nearly 1.2 lakh “doubtful voters” in Assam who would not be able to exercise their franchise in the state. “Doubtful voters” is a category of voters in Assam who are disenfranchised for lack of citizenship credentials and are barred from contesting elections and casting votes.
Noting that the numbers in this category has come down, Mr Sahu said if the names of such voters are cleared by the foreigners’ tribunal or a court, they could get enrolled in the electoral roll. “The electoral rolls are revised till the last date of nominations. But the date of nomination differs as per the phases,” he added.
When asked if those whose names are not in the final NRC draft will be able to exercise their franchise, the CEO said: “Those whose names are on the electoral rolls will be able to cast their votes.”
Mr Sahu also said an elaborate security plan was being drawn up and around 33 companies of Central paramilitary forces had arrived in the state.
Assam has a total electorate of 2,17,60,604. It will see a three-phased Lok Sabha poll, to be held on April 11, April 18 and April 23, covering the state’s 14 Lok Sabha constituencies. Of the 28,143 polling stations in the state, 3,663 are identified as hyper-sensitive and 1,913 are identified as critical polling stations.
To make the coming general elections more inclusive and participatory, the Assam election department has also launched the “i-help” initiative. The Common Service Centres (CSCs) are Internet-enabled access points spread across the country delivering various government and non-government digital services (e-services) to citizens. “We are experiencing a transition to the digital world. To make the transition smoother for the general public, the CSCs can play a vital role to educate people on the use of IT-enabled services related to elections. This will fill the digital divide and fulfill the objective of making the general election more inclusive and participatory,” he added.
The CSCs have a presence in the state’s 2,528 gaon panchayats. There are 4,587 functional CSCs in Assam.