Odisha CEO orders stricter verification of voter deletion applications

Odisha’s chief electoral officer, R Sant Gopalan, stated that electoral registration officers have been ordered to conduct proper verification before deleting names from the electoral rolls. He noted that block-level officers (BLOs), who are not authorised to delete names, had submitted their reports and that about 980,000 names were shortlisted for deletion this year. The CEO’s comments come amid complaints about voters remaining on rolls after deletion and instances where BLOs did not conduct field visits or thorough verification before recommending deletion. The revised guidelines require verification of deceased voters via Form-7, notices to last-known addresses, and enhanced checks for duplicates. EROs are to personally verify at least 50% of Form-7 applications received after April 2 and to investigate all wrongful-deletion complaints. If deletions are in progress, they must be rolled back; wrongfully removed voters must be re-enrolled, and written certification of verification must be submitted before reopening the online system for affected constituencies.

Additional chief electoral officer-cum-special secretary Sushanta Kumar Mishra sent an April 18 letter to electoral registration officers detailing verification requirements before deleting voters. The letter notes that nearly 980,000 names had already been shortlisted for deletion since the elector mapping process began, and it calls for thorough verification before deletion, especially for deceased voters. It requires notices to be sent to the voter’s last known address, and directs detailed checks in cases of suspected duplicates or erroneous entries. It instructs EROs to verify demographically similar entries, issue notices for doubtful matches, and use Form-7-based verification for deceased voters. The letter also requires physically verifying at least 50% of Form-7 applications received after April 2 and to roll back deletions in process if needed, with re-enrollment for wrongfully removed voters. The online system for electoral roll updates is to be reopened for affected constituencies only after certification of proper procedures.