Bhubaneswar: On Tuesday, the Odisha State Election Commission (SEC) convened an important review meeting involving municipal corporation commissioners, district collectors, sub-collectors, and deputy collectors responsible for election duties throughout the state. This gathering aimed to bolster preparations for the upcoming three-tier Panchayat and Urban Local Body elections in 2027, ensuring they are conducted in a free, fair, and orderly manner.
State Election Commissioner Madhusudan Padhi presided over the meeting, which featured in-depth discussions with district collectors on crucial elements concerning the election process.
A significant announcement from the SEC revealed that, for the first time, a door-to-door survey will be carried out to create booth-specific electoral rolls that reflect the actual situation on the ground.
Padhi informed the media, “We will do a door-to-door survey this time to clean the electoral roll. The survey will be completed within the next three to four months. The use of deduplication is under consideration. The Election Commission has already conducted the SIR. We will study the process, and if the use of the deduplication tool is found necessary, we will take an appropriate decision.”
According to SEC Secretary Santosh Kumar Dash, the survey is set to commence in the second week of October, following the publication of the final electoral roll by the Election Commission of India (ECI) in September, after the current Special Intensive Revision (SIR) concludes.
The SEC evaluated various aspects of the survey, including the delimitation of booths and wards, the processing of claims and objections, the digitization of survey data, and ensuring all scheduled tasks are completed on time.
They aim to release the draft electoral rolls by January 1, 2027, with the final rolls expected by February 10, 2027. Officials were urged to conduct the survey meticulously to update and cleanse the electoral rolls.
Special attention was directed to guarantee that no eligible voter is omitted from the list, emphasizing the inclusion of new applicants while removing names of those who are deceased, have moved away, or are otherwise ineligible.
Padhi highlighted the importance of correcting all discrepancies in the rolls and releasing a final voter list that is clean and free of errors within the established timeline.
Additionally, officials were encouraged to ensure that names of all eligible family members appear consecutively on the electoral roll for the same polling booth.
District collectors were also tasked with providing comprehensive training to all personnel assigned to election duties to facilitate the smooth execution of the elections.
