New Delhi: Phase Two of the nationwide rollout of Special Intensive voter roll revision — an exercise being undertaken in the country after 21 years — includes two states where assembly elections are due next year.

But there is a third which is not included. While West Bengal and Tamil Nadu made it to the Phase Two list, Assam did not.

CEC Clarifies on Separate Process for Assam
Asked about the discrepancy, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar told reporters today that the citizenship rule for Assam “differs from the rest of the country”.

“So there will be separate revision orders issued for Assam and a separate SIR date will be announced,” he said.

Assam’s Unique Citizenship Rules
Assam — a state that shares borders with Bangladesh — has specific citizenship rules under Section 6A of the Citizenship Act.

The rule applies to individuals of Indian origin who entered Assam from Bangladesh between January 1, 1966, and March 25, 1971.

While those who entered India before January 1, 1966, are considered Indian citizens, those who entered from the 1966–1971 period can get citizenship after a proper registration process.

Anyone entering Assam after March 25, 1971, is considered an illegal migrant and cannot be granted citizenship. These decisions are taken at a local level by a specially constituted foreigners’ tribunal.

Background: NRC Controversy and Its Impact
The voter list revision for Assam is expected to be a tricky process, with the state still grappling with the fallout of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) list drawn up six years ago.

Over 19 lakh people were left out of the list — aimed at weeding out illegal immigrants — requiring them to prove their citizenship to avoid government action. The process remains incomplete as the Centre is yet to notify the list that sparked massive protests.

Opposition’s Allegations and EC’s Response
The Opposition had raised a furore over the NRC in Assam, insisting that the authorities had erroneously excluded lakhs of Indian citizens and included foreigners.

Similar concerns have now been raised over the SIR, with the Opposition alleging that it has been an exercise in excluding and disenfranchising the poor — allegations the Election Commission has rubbished.

Around 66 lakh names were excluded from the Bihar list in the just-concluded revision process. The EC clarified that these were names of people who had migrated, held duplicate voter IDs, or had died, adding that no formal complaints were received.

States Included in Phase Two and Timeline
In the second phase, the revision exercise will take place in 12 states and Union Territories — Andaman and Nicobar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal.

The process was first rolled out in Bihar — where assembly elections will be held next month — in June-July.

This time, the enumeration stage will run from November 4 to December 4, and the draft rolls will be released on December 9.