Bhubaneswar: Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on 20 April expressed grave concerns regarding the potential mass deletion of voters from Odisha’s electoral rolls.
Senior Party Vice President Shri Debi Prasad Mishra, Deputy Leader of Opposition Shri Prasanna Acharya and General Secretary Shri Bijay Nayak addressed the Media Meet.
They highlighted that while annual revisions typically result in the removal of roughly 700,000 names, this year’s figures have reportedly exceeded 1 million. The party leaders noted that an additional 300,000 deletions beyond the normal average raises serious questions about the transparency of the process.
The BJD leadership specifically voiced apprehension regarding the upcoming Special Intensive Revision (SIR), a process that was last conducted in the state in 2002. Shri Prasanna Acharya pointed out that similar concerns are surfacing nationally, with reports suggesting that over 50 million voters have been removed across 12 states and Union Territories. The party emphasized that a BJD delegation had previously met with the Election Commission of India in August 2025 to request that migrant workers not be stripped of their voting rights.
BJD representatives stated that removing citizens from the voter list deprives them of a fundamental right. The party has called upon both the government and the Election Commission to address these discrepancies and ensure that eligible voters in Odisha are not excluded during the SIR process.
The press release, issued under the authority of Media Co-ordinator Dr. Priyabrata Majhi, underscores the party’s commitment to protecting the integrity of the democratic process in the state.