General Election In April/May, Final Voters’ List By January 2019: Odisha CEO

Bhubaneswar: Putting speculation of early elections in Odisha to rest, state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Surendra Kumar on Tuesday said that preparations are on to conduct the general election in April or May next year.

The final electoral roll ahead of the forthcoming general elections will be published on January 4, 2019, he said while addressing a press conference here.

The process for the special summary revision of the voter list and publication of draft voter list will start from September 1, while objections will be heard by October 31.

“People can file complaints regarding addition, deletion and any changes till October 31. All the complaints will be disposed before November 30 and final voter list will be published on January 4,” said Kumar.

He said special focus would be on including first-time voters in the fresh electoral roll and a special drive would be launched for the purpose.

According to the voter list revision in 2018, there are 3,12,57,803 voters – 1,61,16,754 of them male, 1,51,38,898 female and 2,151 third gender.

Though Odisha has total 35,896 booths, the number is likely to go up by at least 1,800 to 2,000 for the upcoming polls in the state.

Kumar said that the Election Commission of India (ECI) has declared this year as Sugam Matdan Varsh or accessible elections for all and steps are therefore being taken to ensure that people with disabilities get enrolled and avail of facilities at booths to vote easily.

The CEO also informed that special arrangements like ramps and wheelchairs will be made available at the election booths for divyangs. Besides, NSS, scouts, guides volunteers will be deployed to help them, he added.

Along with electronic voting machines (EVMs), voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines will be also used for the first time in the upcoming elections, he added.

He said EVMs will be procured from Chhattishgarh, Maharastra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Assam. The ECI has directed Hyderabad-based Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) to supply 96,000 VVPAT machines for Odisha, he added.

“The EVMs will be stored in warehouses which are being constructed at district headquarters,” said Kumar.