BHUBANESWAR: Around 20.13 lakh voters have been excluded from Odisha’s draft electoral roll, following the month-long household survey in the first phase of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in the state.
As per the draft published on Sunday, the number of voters has come down from 3,33,99,591 in the pre-revision electoral roll to 3,13,87,034. The draft roll comprises 1,60,19,176 male voters, 1,53,65,083 female voters and 2,775 third-gender electors.
Chief electoral officer (CEO) RS Gopalan said the enumeration forms were collected from around 3.13 crore electors, accounting for 93.97 per cent (pc) of the total electorate.
The revision exercise identified 8.32 lakh electors (2.49 pc) as deceased, while 10.07 lakh voters (3.02 pc), had either shifted residence or were found absent. Another 1.58 lakh electors (0.47 pc) were found to be enrolled at multiple places. Besides, 14,000 electors have been excluded after they failed to submit their enumeration forms by the June 28 deadline.
Gopalan said BLOs could not trace these electors or get back their enumeration forms because they had become voters in other states or Union Territories. These people were not found in existence, failed to submit the enumeration forms within the stipulated time or unwilling to register as electors for different reasons. He clarified that genuine electors whose names are missing from the draft electoral roll can still apply for inclusion during the claims and objections period from July 5 to August 4. Similarly, names found enrolled at multiple places will be retained only at one location after due verification.
The CEO said the first phase of SIR was completed with coordinated efforts of 31 district election officers, including the newly-added Bhubaneswar district, 147 electoral registration officers (EROs), 994 assistant electoral registration officers (AEROs), 4,540 booth-level officers (BLOs) and BLO supervisors deployed at 45,250 polling booths.
Representatives of all seven recognised political parties participated in the exercise through 84,594 booth-level agents (BLAs).
As per the next schedule, he said, hearings and verification of claims and objections will continue till September 2, while the final electoral roll will be published on September 6.
Electors can check whether their names are included in the draft electoral roll through their local BLO, the ECINET mobile app, the voters’ portal or the Odisha CEO website. Those whose names are missing can submit Form 6 along with the prescribed declaration form and supporting documents. Applications can be filed either through the local BLO or online.
The Election Commission has also appealed to all eligible young citizens who have attained 18 years of age on or before July 1, 2026, to enroll themselves through Form 6. Special enrolment camps will be organised across the state for this purpose, he said.
Gopalan said printed and digital boothwise copies of the draft electoral roll have been supplied to all recognised political parties and uploaded on the CEO’s website.
A total of 147 EROs and 994 AEROs will scrutinise the claims and objections, while 10 IAS officers have been appointed as electoral roll observers to oversee the process at the district and Assembly constituency-level.
He emphasised that no name would be deleted from the draft electoral roll without due process.
Under the SIR guidelines, deletion can be carried out only after issuing notice and a speaking order by the concerned ERO or AERO. Any aggrieved voter can appeal before the district collector and subsequently before the CEO under section 24 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950.
“The Election Commission is committed to a transparent, participative and inclusive revision process, ensuring that no eligible elector is left out and no ineligible name remains in the electoral rolls,” Gopalan said.
Draft electoral roll
Draft electorate: 3,13,87,034
Male: 1,60,19,176; Female: 1,53,65,083; Third gender: 2,775
Pre-revision electorate: 3,33,99,591
Excluded voters: 20,12,557
Deceased: 8.32 lakh; Shifted/Absent: 10.07 lakh; Multiple enrolment: 1.58 lakh; No form submitted: 14,000
Claims & objections: July 5-August 4
Verification till: September 2
Final roll: September 6
