Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has ordered stricter scrutiny of voter deletions after a surge in complaints that several genuine voters were wrongly removed from electoral rolls during the ongoing revision process.
In an official directive, the Home (Elections) Department flagged that nearly 9.8 lakh names have been deleted by Electoral Registration Officers since the elector mapping exercise began.
However, multiple complaints suggest irregularities, including instances where living voters were marked as deceased and cases where Booth Level Officers failed to carry out field verification before recommending deletions.
Acting on these concerns, authorities have decided to keep around 2 lakh Form-7 applications submitted after April 2, 2026, on hold, following instructions from the Chief Electoral Officer, Odisha.
A notification issued by the Additional Chief Electoral Officer-cum-Special Secretary mandates strict verification before deleting any voter's name. Deletions of deceased persons must be backed by Form-7 submissions from family members or close relatives.
Officials have also been directed to ensure that affected voters are informed at their registered addresses.
Further, at least 50% of Form-7 cases will now require mandatory physical verification. BLOs have been asked to conduct thorough ground checks, while complaints received through the 1950 helpline, email and other platforms must be promptly investigated.
Typically, around 7 lakh names are removed annually due to death, migration or duplication. This year's spike to 9.8 lakh deletions has raised serious concerns over the integrity of the process.