Bhubaneswar: Biju Janata Dal (BJD) Monday alleged that voters belonging to minority community are being deliberately excluded from electoral rolls in Odisha, and demanded action against officials allegedly involved in irregularities during the ongoing voter list revision process.
A delegation led by BJD vice-president and former minister Debi Prasad Mishra met the State Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) and submitted memorandum along with documents in support of the allegations.
Claiming that attempts were made to delete the names of around 3,165 voters across 19 polling booths in Dhamnagar NAC, BJD alleged that the names were targeted for deletion through manipulation of the verification process.
The regional party claimed that Booth Level Officers engaged in the revision exercise have reportedly lodged a complaint at Dhamnagar Police Station. The complaint, according to BJD, names Santosh Kumar Nayak, Executive Officer-cum-Assistant Electoral Registration Officer of Dhamnagar NAC.
The allegations are serious, and they are still unproven. BJD itself notes that they are “yet to be independently established.” But the party argues that their nature — pressure on BLOs, collection of OTPs, and attempts to delete voters through Form-7 without the prescribed procedure — goes to the heart of the electoral roll’s integrity.
The party demanded exemplary action against the Assistant Electoral Registration Officer allegedly responsible for the irregularities and urged the election authorities to ensure that no eligible voter is excluded from the electoral roll.
The allegations come amid the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Odisha. The deadline for filing claims and objections ended on August 19. Authorities are scheduled to take a final decision on all claims and objections by September 17, while the final electoral roll is scheduled to be published on September 21.
As of August 19, notices had been issued to 58,36,430 voters. Election officials have clarified that names of electors who receive notices but fail to submit valid documents or provide correct information may be removed from the voter list.
During the revision process, 2,79,315 applications were received through Form-6 for registration of new voters. Another 53,625 applications were submitted through Form-7 for deletion of duplicate entries, shifting names between polling areas and removal of names of deceased voters.
Meanwhile, 1,97,952 applications were received through Form-8 seeking corrections in electoral rolls, including changes in names, addresses and ages, as well as requests to place members of the same family at a single polling station.
Chief Electoral Officer R S Gopalan has directed officials to ensure that no eligible citizen is excluded from the electoral roll and that no ineligible name remains on the list.
