The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Wednesday (April 22, 2026) staged a protest and submitted a memorandum to the Chief Electoral Officer over the deletion of names of 9.8 lakh voters from the electoral rolls ahead of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
The party said, “While we acknowledge that periodic revision of electoral rolls is essential to maintain the integrity and credibility of the democratic process, the present developments raise serious apprehensions about potential large-scale disenfranchisement of eligible voters.”
“Approximately, 9.8 lakh electors have been deleted during the preliminary verification phase, a figure significantly higher than normal annual trends,” the party pointed out.
Band aid: On the Supreme Court and the Special Intensive Revision process
Stating that the SIR would be conducted in Odisha after a long gap since 2002, the BJD said, “There is growing fear that such deletions may increase further without adequate safeguards. Numerous complaints have been received from electors claiming wrongful deletion despite residing at their registered addresses.”
