BJD alleges 20 lakh voters excluded from Odisha's draft electoral roll

The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in Odisha alleges over 20 lakh voters have been excluded from the draft electoral roll. The CEO confirmed 20.14 lakh names for deletion and urged citizens to file claims for inclusion before the final list on Sept 6.

Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has sounded an alarm over the recently published draft electoral roll in Odisha, alleging that the names of over 20 lakh voters have been excluded from the list during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process.

BJD Voices Concern Over Deletions

Following the release of the draft roll on Sunday, BJD Vice President Debi Prasad Mishra spoke to ANI, expressing deep concern over the scale of deletions. "Today, in accordance with the schedule, the draft electoral roll has been released following the initial Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process," Mishra stated. "Before this, we had raised our concerns with the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Odisha regarding the data indicating that over 20 lakh voters have not been included."

The opposition party provided a granular look at the alleged gaps, highlighting inconsistencies across several regions. According to the BJD, over 50,000 voters were excluded across 49 Assembly constituencies, while another 46 constituencies saw more than 10,000 exclusions each.

Official Response and Public Recourse

Official data from the Chief Electoral Officer confirms that approximately 20.14 lakh names have been identified for deletion in the draft rolls, citing reasons such as death, permanent relocation, or duplicate entries.

While the BJD continues to push for a correction, CEO RS Gopalan has urged citizens to participate in the upcoming claims and objection period, which began Sunday. "If anyone's name is not found in the draft voter list, he or she has to fill out and submit a Form 6 to get the name included in the final roll," Gopalan stated.

The final electoral roll for Odisha is scheduled to be published on September 6, following a thorough verification of all claims and objections.

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