Senior Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sasmit Patra expressed worries to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar about the removal of a significant number of voters in Odisha. Patra highlighted that approximately 9.8 lakh electors were marked for potential deletion during the ongoing preparatory exercise for the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in the state.
Patra, in his communication, emphasized the importance of accurate electoral rolls for fair elections but raised doubts about the scale and process of the proposed deletions. He pointed out instances where electors, who were verifiably present at their residences, were wrongly identified for deletion without proper physical verification by Booth Level Officers.
The BJD MP also flagged concerns about the unusually high number of electors marked for potential deletion, suggesting possible systemic errors or flawed identification criteria. He mentioned that nearly 2 lakh objections have been filed with the Chief Electoral Officer in Odisha, prompting directions for re-verification and assurances of restoring wrongly deleted names.
Patra urged the Election Commission of India to send a team to Odisha to assess the situation of large-scale potential deletions and submit a detailed report. He proposed various measures, including rigorous field inquiries before finalizing deletions, comprehensive re-verification, transparency in data disclosure, independent audits in districts with discrepancies, and strengthening grievance redressal systems.
