BJD: 27 lakh voters ‘excluded’ from Odisha rolls during SIR

Bhubaneswar: The BJD Tuesday alleged that around 27 lakh voters were deliberately excluded from the electoral roll in Odisha and raised questions about the transparency being maintained in the conduct of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls.

Addressing a press conference, BJD senior general secretary Bhrugu Baxipatra and general secretary Bijay Nayak strongly criticised the state’s BJP government.

Odisha’s Chief Electoral Officer R S Gopalan Monday released the state’s final electoral roll in the SIR, 2026 and put the state’s voter figure at 3.16 crore. Names of around 20 lakh electors have been deleted in Odisha after completion of the SIR of electoral rolls in the state.

Baxipatra said that before the 2024 elections, the number of voters in Odisha was 3.26 crore. During the election, it increased to 3.32 crore. A few days after the election, the number of voters increased further to 3.36 crore. By 2025, it had reached 3, 40,72,744, he said.

“However, before the commencement of the SIR process, the CEO Office mapped only 3.16 crore voters. Approximately 25 lakh voters were not mapped and were excluded before the beginning of the SIR,” the BJD leader said, asking why the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) did not map such a large number of voters.

Baxipatra alleged that the CEO had systematically made approximately 25 lakh voters disappear from the electoral roll right from the beginning and then commenced the SIR process. He further alleged that the CEO had manipulated the process from its very beginning.

“The Chief Electoral Officer of the state has not provided accurate information regarding the final revised electoral roll. As a result, incorrect data have been published in various media reports,” the BJD leader said, adding that it is alleged that voter data are being provided arbitrarily.

“We claim that more than 27.50 lakh voters have been excluded during the SIR process, but the same is being concealed. Despite repeated complaints, the Chief Electoral Officer of the State did not take the matter seriously,” Baxipatra said.

The BJD also alleged that BJP exerted pressure on BLOs to exclude voters supporting the BJD or other parties from the electoral roll. The concerned BLOs had also reportedly raised such allegations before the media. Many voters were allegedly excluded from the electoral roll by falsely identifying them as Bangladeshi. The BJD made several efforts to prevent alleged manipulation by the Chief Electoral Officer of the State, he said.

The BJD has demanded corrective measures and inclusion of all eligible voters in the electoral roll.

The office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) was yet to respond to the allegations made by the BJD.