The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) expressed worry about the Election Commission of India’s operations, citing a significant number of voter deletions during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. In Odisha, concerns have surfaced regarding the removal of a large number of voters from the rolls. Senior BJD Vice President Debi Prasad Mishra highlighted that over 1 million voters were eliminated in this year’s revision, a substantial increase from the usual annual deletions.
The party emphasized that the sudden removal of an additional 300,000 voters has raised doubts about the process’s efficiency. With the upcoming SIR in Odisha, there are fears of more deletions. The last SIR in Odisha was in 2002, and the BJD had previously approached the Election Commission in 2025, urging against removing names of migrants for work from the voter list.
Senior BJD leader Prasanna Acharya raised concerns about reports of over 50 million voters being deleted in 12 states and Union Territories during the SIR. The recent letter from the Election Commission has intensified worries, especially as around 1 million voters were removed within a short period. Acharya called for prompt action to safeguard citizens’ voting rights and ensure transparency in the process.
