Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta had earlier told the EC that the state was in the grip of floods and it might continue for the next two-and-a-half months. A large number of officials would be required for relief and rehabilitation of the victims, he had said.

Meanwhile, the fate of about 3.76 lakh voters in the state who were declared as ``doubtful'' in 1996 still hangs in the balance. As for now, they will definitely not be allowed to cast their votes in the ensuing Lok Sabha elections as in the 1998 polls.

All these people were marked as ``doubtful'' when the Assam rolls were revised in 1996 with the suffix ``D'' put against their names. The ``doubt'' arose in the minds ofthe electoral registration officers of the state over their citizenship as also their origin, which is suspected to be Bangladesh.

Gill, who was on a two-day visit here to take stock of the pre-poll scenario, said the commission had no role to play in deciding their fate, except to stick to the earlier stand that they won't be allowed to cast votes.

Gill was flooded with prayers from various parties and organisations with some like the All Assam Students' Union and the state unit of the BJP asking for outright striking off of these 3.76 lakh names. Others, however, pleaded that the suffix ``D'' be dropped and they be allowed to vote.

``The EC does not have any role to play. The tribunals have to decide. Moreover, there is a case on the matter pending in the Supreme Court too,'' Gill said. He said he would take up the matter with the Union Home Ministry ``so that the tribunals dealing with illegal migrants are strengthened and fully staffed in order to dispose of the matter as early as possible.''

TheCongress and the United Minorities' Front (UMF), who have been allies in the state for the past two years, have urged the EC to allow the ``D'' voters to cast their votes, arguing that they have been wrongfully marked as doubtful.

The AASU has been pressing for further scanning of the voters' list so that more such names could be detected and struck off the rolls before actually throwing them out of the country.