Bhubaneswar: Following the announcement of the final electoral rolls under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Odisha, 17.67 lakh names were deleted in the state, accounting for 5.3%.
Odisha thus accounts for the second lowest deletion rate only next to Kerala (3.22%) among several states covered by SIR so far, according to figures released by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
Deletions in Rajasthan (5.74%) Madhya Pradesh (5.97%) and Bihar (5.95%) are marginally higher than Odisha’s. Only Puducherry (7.5%), Goa (10.75%), Tamil Nadu (11.55%), Chhattisgarh (11.77%), West Bengal (about 11.9%), Uttar Pradesh (about 13.2%) and Gujarat (13.4%) have deletion rates much higher than that of Odisha.
Why Odisha Bucked the Trend?
First: Odisha recorded 93.97% return rate for enumeration forms, quite high compared to other states. Only about 6.03%, or 2 million people, did not submit them and were excluded at the draft stage.
Second: Odisha had a relatively low number of duplicate registrations. Of the approximately 20.12 lakh draft-stage exclusions, 8.32 lakh were deceased voters, 10.07 lakh had permanently shifted or could not be traced, and 1.58 lakh were identified as duplicate registrations.
Third: Despite having substantial outward-migration, the trend in Odisha is mostly seasonal or circular. As migrant workers often retain their permanent addresses in the state, this makes them less likely to be classified as permanently shifted or absent.
Fourth: The state’s electoral rolls had already undergone scrutiny before the 2024 elections. In 2023, the Chief Electoral Officer had conducted a special summary revision drive to remove about 3.45 lakh deceased voters.