Bhubaneswar, August 20: India’s Election Commission (ECI) will launch a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Odisha next month, the first such exercise in 24 years, officials said on Monday.
The large-scale revision will cover 45,000 polling booths across the state, requiring additional manpower beyond the existing 38,000 booths, Odisha’s Chief Electoral Officer R.S. Gopalan told reporters. Teachers and government employees will be mobilised, with Anganwadi workers continuing where already deployed, he added.
Voters will be asked to fill out eligibility forms and submit supporting documents, a step aimed at tightening verification. About 90% of Electors’ Photo Identity Card (EPIC) numbers in the state are already linked to Aadhaar, which officials said would help reduce duplication.
During routine revisions, 7,000 EPIC numbers in Odisha were found to match those of voters in other states. New cards with corrected numbers have since been issued, Gopalan said. The draft roll is scheduled for publication on Jan. 6, 2026, with the standard objection and verification periods to follow, unless the ECI orders an extension.
Gopalan dismissed concerns raised by the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) over alleged irregularities in the 2024 elections, saying the party filed its petition six months after the deadline. “No other party had any doubts about the process,” he said, adding that 30 election-related cases remain pending in courts, though the ECI is not a party in any.
He emphasised that the poll panel had maintained credibility over seven decades. “If people lose faith in elections, it will take a long time to restore it,” he said.
