Bhubaneswar, May 15 (IANS) Odisha Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) R.S. Gopalan on Friday announced that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state will begin from May 20, 2026, with July 1 fixed as the qualifying date for inclusion of new voters.

Addressing the media, the CEO said that all eligible citizens who attain 18 years of age by July 1, 2026, and fulfil other required qualifications, will be included in the electoral rolls during the revision process.

According to the schedule announced by the Election Commission, preparatory activities, including training programmes and printing work, will be conducted from May 20 to May 29. Door-to-door verification by Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will commence from May 30 and continue till June 28.

The rationalisation of polling stations is also scheduled to be completed by June 28. The draft electoral roll will be published on July 5. The period for filing claims and objections has been fixed from July 5 to August 4, while the disposal of claims and objections will continue till September 2.

The final electoral roll will be published on September 6. The CEO informed that once the SIR process is completed, the number of polling booths across the state is set to increase to 45,255 with the addition of 7132 new ones, with each booth catering to nearly 1,200 voters on average. He said an equal number of Booth Level Officers (BLOs), around 45,255, will be engaged in electoral management activities.

Gopalan said as many as 27,723 Booth Level Agents have been appointed by seven recognised political parties across the state, appealing to the parties to appoint agents for the remaining booths as well. He further stated that Odisha currently has over 3.34 crore voters enrolled in the electoral rolls. Mapping of voters has already been completed for 94.61 per cent of the electorate.

The CEO also informed the media that around 9 lakh names of voters have been identified for deletion during the pre-SIR process.

On deletion of names from the voter list, Gopalan said nearly nine lakh names have been identified for removal since the revision process began. He added that all ineligible persons, including foreign nationals and those not qualified to remain on the rolls, will be removed as per the law.

–IANS

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