Guwahati: Assam’s final electoral rolls published on Tuesday showed a rare contraction from the draft list, with more than 2.43 lakh names removed during special revision (SR), even as the state’s electorate reached nearly 2.5 crore voters, an increase of over one crore in the past 25 years.In percentage terms, the final electoral rolls recorded a 0.97% decline compared to the draft rolls published in Dec last year. Officials said the decrease reflected a more rigorous purification process that led to the removal of duplicate entries and names of deceased voters.
“If one has to justify the decrease in the number of voters compared with the draft rolls, it is because in earlier summary revisions the draft rolls were updated based largely on voluntary information — such as reports of deaths, new eligibles, or voters shifting residence on their own. This time, during the special revision, we went house-to-house to update the draft voters’ list, and hence the rolls underwent greater purification,” an official said.The most striking feature of the final rolls is the gender balance. After decades of male dominance, Assam is entering its first election cycle with near-perfect gender parity, with women accounting for 49.9% of the electorate, trailing men by only about 6,630 voters.Historically, the male–female gap hovered between five lakh and seven lakh voters. In 2001, men outnumbered women by over five lakh. By 2016, the gap had widened to 6.78 lakh. The tide began to turn in 2021, when women narrowed the gap down to 3.22 lakh.Over the past quarter century, Assam’s electorate has undergone a remarkable transformation. From 1.4 crore voters in 2001, the rolls have expanded to nearly 2.5 crore in 2026, registering a 73% growth. This reflects both demographic change and sustained enrolment drives, though the pace has varied across periods.The biggest surge came between 2001 and 2006, when the rolls grew by more than 20%, while the slowest phase was between 2006 and 2011, with growth of just over 4%. More recently, the electorate expanded by 15.7% between 2016 and 2021, before moderating to 8.6% in the latest cycle.Taken together, Assam’s electoral journey tells a dual story: steady expansion of the voter base alongside a narrowing gender gap. The numbers reflect not just demographic growth, but a reshaping of the electorate itself — one that is larger, more inclusive, and more balanced than ever before.Meanwhile, officials said eligible voters, whose names were deleted from their previous polling stations or constituencies on the grounds of having ‘permanently shifted’ from their earlier places of residence due to evictions or other reasons, can now apply for inclusion at their new addresses.
