Odisha Launches Massive Voter Roll Revision and Local Election Surveys

The Odisha State Election Commission and the Chief Electoral Officer have initiated two separate voter verification drives to clean electoral rolls for upcoming polls. To prepare for three-tier panchayat and urban local body elections in April or May 2027, the commission will conduct a door-to-door survey from October 26 to November 7, 2026. This initiative, led by State Election Commissioner Madhusudan Padhi, aims to assign serial house numbers and remove ineligible voters before publishing a draft list on January 1, 2027, and a final roll on February 10, 2027.

Simultaneously, Chief Electoral Officer S Gopalan has launched the second phase of a separate electoral roll revision, issuing verification notices to approximately 58 lakh individuals. These notices target people whose records could not be mapped to the 2002 roll and 46,000 individuals with minor entry errors. This follows a draft roll published on July 5, 2026, which excluded 8.32 lakh deceased voters, 10.07 lakh shifted or absent voters, and 1.58 lakh duplicate registrations.

Additional Chief Electoral Officer Sushanta Kumar Mishra noted that 14,000 voters were also omitted due to missing enumeration forms. Eligible voters can file claims and objections until August 4, with hearings running through September 2. The final electoral roll for this revision process is scheduled for publication on September 6, 2026.