Odisha’s Chief Electoral Officer, R S Gopalan, on Saturday said that a massive door-to-door enumeration drive has begun across the state, with over 45,000 booth-level officers tasked with conducting a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter lists.
Gopalan said the extensive exercise was launched from the sacred city of Puri, deploying a total of 45,255 BLOs across all 147 assembly constituencies for a survey scheduled to be conducted from May 30 to June 28.
Speaking to media persons, he highlighted that around 75 per cent of voters will only need to append their signatures to the designated forms without providing extra documentation, ensuring that no legitimate citizen experiences any trouble during the revision process.
The CEO commended the performance of the booth-level officers, pointing out that nearly 95 per cent of electors have already been successfully mapped with the 2002 electoral roll, which marks the last time such an intensive revision took place in the state.
“I also request people not to pay heed to unfounded rumours (surrounding the SIR exercise). We will make sure the process is completed as per rules and peacefully,” Gopalan said.
In consideration of the severe heatwave conditions currently affecting the region, the BLOs will complete their home visits before 11 am each day and subsequently remain available at their designated polling booths from 3 pm to 5 pm, he detailed.
The CEO explained that the primary duties of these officers include handing out the census forms, guiding residents through the data-entry process, and collecting the completed forms.
Each form records personal details, family structure, and historical details corresponding to the 2002 electoral roll. BLOs will verify entries and correct minor discrepancies during the door-to-door survey, he said.
Gopalan said that explicit orders have been handed down to the field staff to ensure that every qualified citizen finds a place on the list while preventing any unqualified individuals from being registered.
The initial draft of the revised electoral roll is slated to be published on July 5, whereas final list will be out on September 6, he said.
Election authorities further said that the surveying staff will be equipped with two pre-printed enumeration forms during their door-to-door survey, adding that individuals who have recently become eligible to vote can submit their registration requests via Form 6 along with a self-declaration.
Residents wishing to submit any claims or register objections can do so between July 5 and August 4, with the official review and resolution of these submissions continuing until September 2, they noted.
Gopalan clarified that logical errors, such as standard mistakes in spelling or age details, can easily be fixed through basic local verifications.
“Serious errors may require supporting evidence, but the absence of documents does not automatically disqualify a voter. Family members can collect and sign forms for voters who are away from home,” he said.
To support the state-led initiative, various political organizations have also assigned roughly 33,000 trained booth-level agents (BLAs) to monitor the revision process, according to officials.
Voters can also download forms from the Election Commission’s website, fill those and upload online.
During the day, the CEO also inaugurated a sand art installation by renowned artist Sudarsan Pattnaik at Puri sea beach to spread awareness about the SIR exercise.
