BHUBANESWAR: The BJD on Tuesday raised questions on the transparency of the SIR process in Odisha, alleging that a large number of eligible voters had been deliberately excluded from the electoral roll.
Addressing a media conference at Sankha Bhavan here, party’s senior general secretary Bhrugu Baxipatra and general secretary Bijay Nayak alleged that at least 25 lakh voters were not mapped and excluded from the SIR process in the state.
They claimed that before the 2024 election, there were 3.26 crore voters in the state, which increased to 3.32 crore during the polls. The number of voters had reached more than 3.40 crore by 2025. They alleged that before the commencement of the SIR, around 3.16 crore voters had been mapped in the state and about 25 lakh were excluded.
They accused chief electoral officer (CEO) RS Gopalan of systematically removing 25 lakh voters from the electoral roll and then starting the SIR. At the beginning of the SIR, the CEO had stated that 3.16 crore voters had been mapped following which the BJD had questioned where the remaining voters had gone, the party leaders said.
Thereafter, during the form-filling process, the number of voters stood at 3.33 crore. However, as proper awareness was not created among the voters during the process, people faced difficulties in submitting their applications. The office of the CEO had stated in the draft electoral roll that there were 3,13,87,034 voters, they said.
Comparing this figure with the initial data of 3.40 crore voters, the BJD leaders stated that approximately 27 lakh voters had been excluded from the electoral roll. They claimed the CEO had manipulated the process from the very beginning as there was no consistency between the statement and the data provided.
The BJD leaders alleged that despite repeated complaints, the CEO did not take the matter seriously. They claimed that people who have been residing in Odisha for several generations have allegedly been removed from the electoral roll, and demanded corrective measures and inclusion of all eligible voters in the list.
