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According to PTI, the instructions to the Chief Electoral Officer of Assam were issued on Monday, November 17.
The election authority has specified January 1, 2026, as the qualifying date for the special vetting exercise.
According to officials quoted by PTI, this revision process falls in between the annual special revision and the special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls.
The Election Commission had last month ordered the SIR exercise in 12 states and union territories, including poll-bound Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.
Other states and union territories earmarked for SIR include Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
Read more: SIR Phase 2 starts today: Steps to check your name in voter list
However, Assam, where elections are scheduled in 2026, was not included in the list.
‘Assam SIR will be started separately’
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar had said that this process would be started separately for Assam.
He had argued that Assam’s boycott was related to the ongoing investigation of citizenship records as directed by the Supreme Court.
“Under the Citizenship Act of India, there are separate provisions for Assam. Under the supervision of the Supreme Court, the citizenship verification is going to be completed there,” Kumar said at a press conference in New Delhi on October 27.
“The SIR order of June 24 was for the entire country. Under such circumstances, it is not applicable to Assam. Therefore, separate orders of modification will be issued for Assam,” he said.
Assam Chief Minister appreciated this step
Responding to the Election Commission’s latest directive, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the state government fully supports the decision.
Read more: Why has the electoral state Assam been left out of the Election Commission’s SIR Phase 2?
“The Government of Assam welcomes the decision of the Election Commission of India to conduct special revision of the electoral rolls considering 01.01.2026 as the qualifying date,” Sarma wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
“This will help ensure clean, updated and accurate voter lists for all eligible citizens. Assam will extend full cooperation to the Election Commission to complete the revision in a transparent and time-bound manner,” he said.