Bhubaneswar, Sept. 22 (UDN): Odisha has completed the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of its electoral rolls, with the publication of the Final Electoral Roll 2026, reducing the state’s electorate to 3.16 crore voters after an extensive verification exercise.
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According to the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Odisha now has 3,16,32,754 registered electors, comprising 1,61,30,319 male voters, 1,54,99,661 female voters, and 2,774 third-gender voters.
The revision exercise followed a large-scale verification drive aimed at updating the electoral database by removing ineligible entries and incorporating eligible voters after scrutiny.
Voter Roll Sees Major Revision
Before the SIR exercise began, Odisha had 3,33,99,591 electors as of May 17, 2026. During the initial enumeration phase, authorities received 3,13,87,034 enumeration forms, representing 93.97 per cent of the electorate.
The remaining 20,12,557 electors, whose forms were not submitted, were excluded from the Draft Electoral Roll published on July 5. Officials cited reasons such as absence, migration, death, duplicate registrations and other discrepancies for the non-receipt of forms.
Verification Adds Fresh Electors
The claims and objections phase involved a massive verification exercise, during which 58,36,392 notices were issued to unmapped electors and those with logical inconsistencies in their records.
The CEO’s office received and disposed of 2,55,996 claims and objections during the process.
Following scrutiny, 2,90,497 names were added to the draft roll, while 44,777 entries were deleted, resulting in a net addition of 2,45,720 voters and bringing the final electorate to 3,16,32,754.
Polling Stations Rationalised
As part of the revision, polling infrastructure was also rationalised, taking the total number of polling stations across Odisha to 45,250. The final electoral roll for service voters has also been released, recording 46,816 service electors.
CEO Urges Voters to Verify Details
Chief Electoral Officer R.S. Gopalan urged voters to verify their names and personal details in the final electoral roll, which is available for public inspection at polling stations as well as the offices of Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs).
Addressing concerns over deleted names, Gopalan said affected individuals could seek redress through the prescribed appellate process.
“Those whose names have been deleted can file an appeal before the District Collector, and a second appeal lies with the CEO. They may also submit a fresh application through Form 6, after which their eligibility will be verified before enrolment,” he said.
The CEO’s office said no appeals had been received immediately after the publication of the final electoral roll.