SIR covers over 1.45 crore Odisha voters in the first seven days

Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Odisha’s has achieved significant progress within a week of its launch, with enumeration forms distributed and collected from more than 1.45 crore voters, covering 43.47 per cent of the state’s electorate, officials said on Friday.

The exercise, launched by the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) to make the electoral rolls more accurate, updated and error-free, has generated a positive response from voters across the state, including those in remote, tribal, rural and urban areas.

Advertisement

According to official figures, enumeration forms have been distributed and collected from 1,45,15,212 voters out of Odisha’s total electorate of 3,33,99,591 as of Friday evening. Officials expressed confidence that the ongoing drive would be completed well ahead of the June 28 deadline.

The revision programme was initiated following the issuance of SIR guidelines on May 30. Since then, the election machinery has been engaged in an extensive door-to-door campaign to ensure maximum voter coverage.

A total of 45,255 Booth Level Officers (BLOs) have been deployed across the state for the exercise. The officials are visiting every household to distribute pre-printed enumeration forms and collect voter details. Each elector is being provided with two copies of the form, one of which is retained by the BLO after submission, while the other, duly signed, is returned to the voter as an acknowledgement receipt for future reference.

To strengthen public participation, district administrations have launched large-scale awareness campaigns across the state. Awareness vehicles are touring villages, while public address systems, hoardings, LED screens and social media platforms are being extensively used to spread information about the programme and encourage voter participation.

The CEO’s office clarified that no additional documents are being collected from voters during the enumeration process. Electors may also download the forms from the Election Commission’s official website and submit their details online.

Officials said 33,026 Booth Level Agents (BLAs) nominated by various political parties are assisting the BLOs in the field. The Election Department and district administrations have taken all necessary steps to ensure that no eligible voter is left out of the revision exercise.