Odisha SIR 2026 enters final phase, claims and objections deadline ends
The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Odisha entered the final phase as the deadline for filing claims and objections for registration and revision ended on Wednesday, officials said.
A statement issued by the office of the Odisha's chief electoral officer (CEO) said the final decision on all claims and objections will be taken by September 17 and the final voter list will be published on September 21.
The CEO said that till August 19, notices have been issued in the names of a total of 58,36,430 voters.
Of them, notices have been successfully delivered to 58,36,374 voters, the CEO statement said.
"Till now, a total of 3,09,71,941 eligible voters in the state have been considered eligible for inclusion in the final voter list," it said, adding that the number may further increase as the hearing process is ongoing.
Officials made it clear that the electors to whom notices have been issued but have been unable to submit the required valid certificates or correct information will be removed from the voter list.
The SIR process also witnessed great enthusiasm among the youths to add their names in the voter list. A total of 2,79,315 people applied for new name registration through Form-6.
Also, 53,625 applications have been received through Form-7 for voters whose names are in two places to remove their names from one place and put them in another place, and for deleting the names of deceased persons, the statement said.
As many as 1,97,952 voters have applied through Form-8 for the names of all members of a family to be put together in one polling station along with the name, address, age or other corrections in the voter list, it said.
Chief Electoral Officer R S Gopalan said that he has directed the officials to ensure that no eligible citizen is left out of the voter list and no ineligible name remains in the voter list.
"The final list, which will be published on September 21, is expected to make the upcoming election process cleaner and stronger," Gopalan said.
However, opposition BJD, in a memorandum to the CEO, urged it to further extend the deadline of the claims and objection phase by one more month in view of the prevailing flood situation in Odisha.
"Under these circumstances, it has become extremely difficult for electoral officials, voters and booth-level agents to complete the verification and file claims and objections within the existing timeline," BJD senior vice president Debi Prasad Mishra said, adding that an extension of the timeline for filing claims and objections is essential for preparing a transparent and impartial electoral roll.
