The State Election Commission in Odisha is gearing up to conduct elections for the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in the state. This includes preparations for elections in the 28 newly announced ULBs across Odisha. According to Santosh Kumar Dash, Secretary of the SEC, elections are mandated every five years following the formation of elected bodies under the Panchayat Rules and Municipal Acts.
The upcoming polls, scheduled for 2027 as the last PRI and ULB elections were held in 2022, involve two main stages: the preparation of electoral rolls and the actual conduct of the elections. The Commission has requested updated electoral rolls from the Election Commission of India (ECI) through the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) to facilitate the division of Assembly rolls into ward-wise and booth-wise lists for both rural and urban areas.
A comprehensive door-to-door verification drive is underway in all Panchayats and municipal wards to refine and update the voter list. Booth Level Officers (BLOs) are utilizing specialized software to identify and rectify inclusion and exclusion errors, ensuring the removal of incorrect or duplicate entries and the addition of eligible voters. This survey, expected to last three to four months, accounts for a significant portion of the overall election preparation process.
In addition, the Commission has been conducting review meetings with district administrations to ensure preparedness. Collector-level conferences have taken place in various divisions, with officials briefed on logistics, manpower deployment, and administrative coordination for the forthcoming elections. Concerning the newly established ULBs, Dash emphasized that elections must be held within six months of notification as per municipal regulations. With 28 new ULBs announced on December 31, 2025, the election process is set to conclude by June 30, 2026, with new elected bodies in position by then. Dash affirmed the Commission’s commitment to conducting transparent, fair, and unbiased elections in both rural and urban Odisha.
