BJD MP Sasmit Patra flags concerns around 9.8 lakh voter deletions in Odisha pre-SIR
Bhubaneswar, April 21 (IANS) Senior Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sasmit Patra on Tuesday wrote to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, flagging concerns over the deletion of a large number of voters during the ongoing preparatory exercise for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Odisha.
In his letter, Patra said, “It has been widely reported, and administratively acknowledged, that approximately 9.8 lakh electors have been identified for potential deletion during the preliminary verification phase. While the objective of maintaining accurate electoral rolls is fundamental to the integrity of elections, the scale, pattern, and process underlying these proposed deletions raise serious and substantive concerns.”
Citing various reports and statements from the Chief Electoral Officer’s office in Odisha, the BJD MP said the office has received numerous complaints from electors allegedly wrongly identified for deletion, including those verifiably present at their residence.
“Credible reports indicate that, in several instances, Booth Level Officers did not undertake the requisite physical verification prior to flagging electors for deletion. Such omissions constitute a deviation from established electoral procedures and raise serious questions about the integrity of the process,” he added.
He also claimed that the identification of around 9.8 lakh electors for potential deletion, significantly exceeding normal annual deletion patterns, indicates either systemic error or overbroad and potentially flawed identification criteria.
Patra noted that nearly 2 lakh objections have reportedly been filed in Form 7 with the CEO, Odisha, in a short span, adding that the CEO, Odisha, has directions for re-verification, including partial mandatory field checks and assurances that wrongly deleted names will be restored. Referring to similar concerns regarding voter deletions and verification processes in other states, Patra stated the judiciary intervened, issuing directions emphasising transparency, due process, and accessibility of corrective mechanisms.
He urged the CEC to depute an Election Commission of India team to Odisha for reviewing the situation regarding the large-scale potential deletion and submitting a detailed report to the CEC.
Other suggestions offered by the BJD MP include ensuring no deletion is finalised without rigorous, documented and independently verifiable field inquiry, ordering a comprehensive state-wide re-verification of all cases, mandating transparency through disclosure of constituency- and category-wise data on proposed deletions with reasons, establishing independent audits in districts reporting large-scale discrepancies, strengthening the grievance redressal systems and issuing a detailed response outlining corrective and preventive steps.
–IANS
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