The Chief Electoral Officer of Odisha has ordered strict verification of voter records following allegations that around 9.8 lakh names were wrongfully deleted during a pre-revision exercise.
The deletions occurred during electoral mapping carried out between January and March ahead of the Special Intensive Revision. Officials said a large number of complaints have been received, including cases where voters were found to be present and instances where booth-level officers did not conduct field visits or proper verification before recommending deletions.
Following the complaints, nearly two lakh Form-7 applications, used to object to the inclusion or deletion of names, have been received after April 2 and are currently on hold.
Chief Electoral Officer RS Gopalan said electoral registration officers have been instructed to ensure that at least 50 percent of objection cases are physically verified and that all procedures are followed before finalising the rolls.
“Usually, at least 7 to 9 lakh names are deleted from the electoral roll every year due to various reasons. The number is slightly high because of door-to-door mapping by the BLOs ahead of the SIR exercise,” Gopalan said.
He added that deletions are typically carried out in cases of death, shifting of electors, or duplicate and doubtful entries. However, booth-level officers cannot delete names directly and must obtain Form-7 confirmation from family members or neighbours.
Authorities have also directed that in cases of death, names should only be removed after proper verification and after issuing notice to the last known address. For suspected duplicates, notices must be served and due process followed before any action is taken.
Officials said complaints received through helplines and other channels will be thoroughly investigated. In cases where names have been wrongly deleted, voters will be re-enrolled promptly after due verification.
The Special Intensive Revision in Odisha, originally scheduled to begin on April 1, has been deferred due to ongoing elections in five states and is now expected to start in May.