The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls across Odisha has entered its decisive phase. The last date for filing claims and objections for inclusion, deletion or correction ended today, clearing the path for the final voter list that will be formally published on September 21.
According to the Chief Electoral Officer’s office, every notice stage and the disposal of all pending claims and objections will be completed by September 17. Once the hearings and verifications are wrapped up, the purified rolls will be released four days later.
Big Numbers That Tell the Story
- Notices were issued in the names of 58,36,430 electors.
- An impressive 58,36,374 notices were successfully delivered.
- After hearings, 54,21,872 of these electors have already been retained in the draft rolls.
- The current count of eligible electors stands at 3,09,71,941. Officials note that this figure is likely to rise further as remaining hearings conclude.
Voters who received notices but failed to produce valid documents or correct particulars face deletion. At the same time, fresh energy is visible among new and young voters:
- Form-6 (new registration): 2,79,315 applications
- Form-7 (deletion of duplicates or deceased): 53,625 applications
- Form-8 (corrections of name, address, age and family grouping at the same polling station): 1,97,952 applications
All these applications continue to undergo rigorous scrutiny at the level of Assistant Electoral Registration Officers.
Chief Electoral Officer R.S. Gopalan has directed field officials to ensure that “no eligible citizen is left out and no ineligible name remains on the rolls.” The September 21 final list, he said, will make the forthcoming electoral process cleaner and more robust.
Youth Power & Electoral Literacy
Parallel to the revision exercise, Electoral Literacy Clubs (ELCs) have been activated in educational institutions across the state. Students are actively sensitising first-time voters about the registration process through debates, quizzes, and poster-making competitions. Winners are being felicitated with certificates and prizes, keeping the democratic spirit alive among the youth.
With the claims window now shut and the clock ticking toward September 21, Odisha is set to unveil one of its most thoroughly revised electoral rolls in recent years – a list that promises greater accuracy, transparency and inclusiveness for the elections ahead.
