Bhubaneswar: Odisha State Election Commission (SEC) has started preparations to hold elections in the 24 newly formed urban local bodies (ULBs) in June, a senior official said.
State Election Commissioner Madhusudan Padhi Wednesday said in accordance with legal provisions, the ULBs should have elected councils within six months of their formation.
On December 31, 2025, the state government issued a notification declaring 24 new Notified Area Councils (NACs) and municipalities spread across 14 districts.
“The SEC has initiated preparations for the timely conduct of ULB elections in the 24 newly formed urban bodies,” Padhi said.
Padhi said the SEC has already written to the state government, seeking necessary arrangements for completing the election process, including delimitation and reservation of urban wards, within the mandated period. After that, the SEC would proceed with the preparations of electoral rolls, he added.
According to Padhi, the commission has also started preparations for the three-tier panchayat elections in January–February 2027, as the tenure of the existing rural bodies will expire by then.
He said a number of meetings have been held with district collectors, the latest being held at Chhatrapur, the district headquarters of Ganjam Tuesday.
The SEC said a comprehensive door-to-door voter survey would be undertaken for the elections to panchayat and urban bodies. The exercise is expected to be completed by March, he said.
Padhi, however, said the timeline could be extended by a month because of the ongoing census-related activities.
“The voter survey to be undertaken by the SEC is independent of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process. This survey has no linkage with SIR,” he said.
PTI
