Ahead of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, which launches in Odisha on July 1, the opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Wednesday formed a high-level committee of senior leaders to oversee the appointment of Booth Level Agents (BLAs) across all assembly segments.
In an official order, BJD president Naveen Patnaik said that this state-level team will supervise the deployment, training, and capacity building of BLAs in every assembly constituency, as well as manage other related operational tasks.
The newly formed six-member panel includes prominent senior leaders Pramila Mallik, Niranjan Pujari, Pratap Jena, Sasmit Patra, Bhrugu Baxipatra, and Bijay Nayak.
“The state-level monitoring team will immediately start reviewing the status of BLA appointments and training in all constituencies and report to the BJD president on a weekly basis. This order shall come into force with immediate effect,” the order said.
Previously, BJD MP Sasmit Patra, who is also a member of the newly formed panel, submitted a petition to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, urging the Election Commission of India (ECI) to implement specific measures to guarantee a transparent, precise, and flawless SIR process in Odisha.
The opposition party requested that the ECI mandate strict, documented, and verifiable field inquiries before any voter name is deleted. They also called for giving affected voters ample advance notice and a fair opportunity to respond, while tightening supervision in areas showing unusually high rates of deletions or objections.
Additionally, the BJD leader pressed the ECI to establish accessible, time-bound, and citizen-friendly grievance redressal systems for impacted voters. He highlighted the need for transparency through regular public updates on constituency-wise progress and deletion categories, alongside targeted outreach programs for vulnerable and remote groups, such as the elderly, tribal communities, migrant workers, women, and persons with disabilities.
Furthermore, the party urged the ECI to maintain smooth coordination with recognized political parties and BLAs to reduce discrepancies and boost public trust in the SIR drive, while suggesting the deployment of specialized review or observer teams in Odisha during vital phases of the revision.
“Timely preventive and corrective measures at this stage would significantly reinforce public confidence in the integrity, inclusiveness, and credibility of the electoral process,” Patra said.
