BHUBANESWAR: BJD Rajya Sabha MP Sasmit Patra on Tuesday demanded that a team from the Election Commission of India (ECI) be sent to Odisha to inquire into deletion of 9.8 lakh names from the voters’ list, and necessary action taken.
In a letter to chief election commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, the BJD MP said the deletion of such a large number of names from the voters’ list significantly exceeds the normal annual pattern, thereby indicating either systemic error and potentially flawed identification criteria.
Patra alleged that nearly two lakh objections have reportedly been filed in a short span of time necessitating intervention from the ECI and temporary suspension of scrutiny by the authorities. “Such a large volume of grievances is indicative of widespread public concern and potential inaccuracies in the deletion process,” he added.
Stating that an independent audit or supervisory mechanism should be established in the districts where large-scale discrepancies have been reported, Patra said there should be detailed response from the Commission outlining the corrective and preventive steps being undertaken.