Allegations of dual voting along the disputed Meghalaya-Assam border have surfaced following the Assam Assembly elections, even as local representatives insist that the onus of verification rests with the Assam government. The development apparently exposes a persistent lack of coordination between the two governments to sanities electoral rolls in sensitive blocks. Carved out of Assam in 1972, Meghalaya shares a 884.9 km boundary with Assam, primarily along the northern and eastern border. However, the two states have had a long-standing dispute over 12 areas of disagreement, even as efforts are underway to resolve them. On the dual-voting allegations, Nongpoh MLA Mayralborn Syiem said he cannot confirm whether such instances occurred during the April 9 election in Assam, adding that the government in the neighboring state is responsible for verifying them. However, Syiem’s stance exposes an administrative vacuum in the Ri-Bhoi sector, where electoral enrollment is often viewed as a strategic tool in the ongoing Phase Two border settlement talks.
While the legislator acknowledged that reports of residents holding voting rights in both states have frequently surfaced, he maintained the claims remain “unsubstantiated.” Reports state the lack of official verification persists despite the high stakes for border villages, where the “numbers” on an electoral roll can weaken or strengthen Meghalaya’s territorial claims. “However, any irregularities, if established, should be corrected, though the absence of a joint mechanism to cross-reference voter lists continues to leave the integrity of the border belt’s mandate in question,” the MLA said.