Assam CM urges five‑year electoral roll overhaul to curb Bangladeshi voter infiltration

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the country must carry out a Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls every five years to stop what he called the infiltration of Bangladeshi nationals. He made the demand while protests called for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Sarma pointed to a “demographic invasion” in Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal as the reason for the call. He recalled former Union Home Minister Indrajit Gupta’s late‑1990s Parliament remark that about 30 lakh foreigners were listed on Assam’s voters register. According to Sarma, daily deportations in Assam show the state is already removing infiltrators, but without a periodic SIR the names of hundreds of thousands of foreigners cannot be cleared from the rolls. Targeting Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Sarma accused the party of blackmailing the Supreme Court and the Election Commission and warned that the Congress was trying to destabilise democratic institutions. He challenged Gandhi to ask all Congress governments formed during Kumar’s tenure to resign and dared the party to forgo contesting upcoming elections in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Goa, Manipur and Uttarakhand under Kumar’s watch. Sarma also claimed that when Congress leaders win elections the EVMs work fine, implying bias when he wins. The statements were made to journalists on Sunday, October 12, 2026, and published by The Hindu on October 13, 2026. ## Context India’s electoral roll maintenance is overseen by the Election Commission, which periodically updates voter lists but does not currently conduct a nationwide five‑year intensive revision. Calls for such a review reflect long‑standing concerns in border states about illegal immigration and its impact on voting rights.