Raijor Dal chief and Sivasagar MLA Akhil Gogoi on Monday alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is attempting to manipulate electoral rolls in Assam ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections, calling it a serious threat to the democratic process.
Addressing a press interaction and through a live social media broadcast, Gogoi claimed that senior BJP leaders held a video conference on January 4, during which discussions allegedly went beyond routine election preparations and focused on “engineering” voter lists in several Assembly constituencies.
According to Gogoi, the meeting was led by Assam BJP president Dilip Saikia and attended by ministers, MLAs and party office-bearers. He alleged that Cabinet minister Ashok Singhal was instructed to oversee voter list-related activities in nearly 60 Assembly constituencies. Gogoi further claimed that party leaders at the district and local levels were allegedly directed to identify voters perceived as unfavourable to the BJP, with the intention of having their names removed from the electoral rolls.
Terming the alleged move a “voter list scam”, Gogoi said such actions, if true, amount to an assault on free and fair elections. “Manipulating voter lists to suit political interests is unconstitutional and anti-democratic,” he said, demanding immediate intervention by the Election Commission of India.
The Raijor Dal leader challenged Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and the BJP leadership to make public the recording of the alleged meeting to disprove his claims. He also demanded a judicial inquiry into the matter and said he was willing to undergo a narco-analysis test to establish the credibility of his allegations.
So far, the BJP has not issued a detailed response to Gogoi’s claims. The allegations come amid heightened political tension in Assam, where opposition parties have already raised concerns over the Special Revision of electoral rolls currently underway.
The Election Commission has opened a window for claims and objections, allowing voters to seek corrections in the draft electoral rolls before final publication. With the 2026 Assembly elections approaching, issues surrounding voter list accuracy and transparency are expected to remain a key political flashpoint in the state.
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