Bhubaneswar: In a significant developement in routine revision of the electoral roll, a total of 9.8 Lakh names have been removed from electoral rolls in Odisha. This has raised concern among the voters who have alleged that some genuine entries may have been wrongly deleted.
Every year, a routine revision of the electoral roll sees around seven lakh names being removed, mostly due to deaths, migration, or duplication. It is a standard exercise and usually passes without much concern. This year, however, the number has risen sharply to 9.8 lakh. The sharp increase compared to the usual annual average has led to concerns that due process may not have been followed in all cases.
Additional Chief Electoral Officer Sushanta Kumar Mishra has written to the Electoral Registration Officers (ELO) to ensure that no eligible voters names should be struck off without proper ground checks. Taking note of the issue, the department has issued fresh directions to tighten the verification process.
Allegation have surfaced against Booth Level Officers, responsible for field verification that sometimes even living and locally residing voters names have been removed without any field visit at the intended place.
In view of the issue, around two lakh Form-7 applications have been kept on hold until all verification procedures are completed. Officials have made it clear that no final deletions will take place in these cases without proper scrutiny.