Bhubaneswar: A day after Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Odisha, R. S. Gopalan released the final electoral roll and stated 20,57,334 electors had been deleted during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in the State, Opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD) questioned the reasons behind their exclusion.

At a press conference held at Sankha Bhawan, the party’s state headquarters, Senior General Secretary Bhrugu Baxipatra and General Secretary Bijay Nayak criticised the State Government over the SIR process.

The BJD questioned what it described as the lack of clarity from the Chief Electoral Officer on the reasons for the deletion of such a large number of names from the electoral roll. The party alleged that the CEO had not provided a detailed explanation for the exclusions, despite complaints being raised earlier over alleged irregularities in the SIR process.

The two leaders also questioned what action had been taken over alleged irregularities committed by the Assistant Returning Officer (ARO) in Dhamnagar during the SIR process. They alleged that the final revised electoral roll had been prepared on the basis of manipulated data and questioned the transparency of the process.

The BJD also referred to an earlier statement attributed to the Titlagarh MLA, alleging that voters who did not support the BJP would be excluded from the electoral roll. The party alleged that, following this statement, eligible voters were systematically removed from the electoral roll and claimed that the Chief Electoral Officer did not take action despite the allegation.

The Opposition party further alleged that the ruling BJP exerted pressure on Booth Level Officers (BLOs) to exclude voters supporting the BJD and other parties from the electoral roll. According to the BJD, some BLOs had also raised such allegations before the media.

The party also alleged several voters were excluded after being falsely identified as Bangladeshi nationals. The BJD claimed that it had made several efforts to prevent what it described as manipulation of the electoral roll during the SIR process.

“While voting in elections is a fundamental right of voters, there has been an attempt to undermine this right. People who have been residing in Odisha for generations have allegedly been excluded from the electoral roll,” the BJD said in a press statement.

The Opposition party demanded corrective measures and the inclusion of all eligible voters in the electoral roll.