Odisha's Chief Electoral Officer R S Gopalan announced that the draft electoral rolls were published on Sunday, revealing the deletion of over 20 lakh names following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) enumeration phase. The state now has 3.13 crore voters, down from 3.33 crore when the rolls were frozen on May 20.
Breakdown of Deleted Voters
According to Gopalan, of the 20 lakh deleted voters, 8.32 lakh were deceased, 10.07 lakh had shifted residence or were absent during enumeration, and 1.58 lakh were found registered in multiple places. Additionally, about 14,000 voters did not return their enumeration forms to booth-level officers (BLOs). The current voter list includes 1.60 crore men, 1.53 crore women, and 2,775 third-gender individuals.
Claim and Objection Process
Gopalan stated that voters whose names are missing from the draft list can file claims or objections through the BLO, the ECINET mobile app, or the website voters.eci.gov.in. The process runs from July 5 to August 4. A total of 147 Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and 994 assistant EROs will scrutinize cases by September 2. The final electoral roll will be published on September 6.
“If someone’s name does not feature in the draft voter list, the person needs to fill up a form and submit it to poll authorities along with a declaration form and other documents,” Gopalan told reporters.
Political Reactions
BJD vice-president Debi Prasad Mishra alleged that over 27 lakh names were actually deleted, claiming another 7 lakh names were hidden. Congress Legislature Party leader Rama Chandra Kadam accused the ruling BJP of conspiring to delete names of voters opposed to them. BJP MLA Babu Singh countered by stating the Election Commission revised the list, not the BJP, and urged objectors to use proper channels.
