Explainer: Why fewer voters were deleted in Odisha compared to several other states

The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Odisha’s electoral rolls concluded on Monday with Chief Electoral Officer R.S. Gopalan announcing that Odisha’s electorate reduced by about 17.67 lakh names, a net deletion of around 5.3%. Before the SIR began, Odisha had 3,33,99,591 electors. The draft electoral roll published on July 5 had 3,13,87,034 while the final roll, published on September 21, had 3,16,32,754 voters.

How does Odisha’s deletion rate compare with other states?

Odisha’s deletion rate was lower than several states covered by the SIR.

As per ECI figures, Kerala saw 3.22% deletion, lower than Odisha. Deletions in Rajasthan (5.74%) Madhya Pradesh (5.97%) and Bihar (5.95%) were marginally higher than Odisha’s. Only Puducherry (7.5%), Goa (10.75%), Tamil Nadu (11.55%), Chhattisgarh (11.77%), West Bengal (about 11.9%), Gujarat (13.4%) and Uttar Pradesh (about 13.2%) had deletion rates much higher than that of Odisha. So, Odisha’s deletion rate was substantially below that of several larger states.

Was Odisha’s draft-stage deletion rate also relatively low?

Yes. When the Election Commission released draft rolls for the third phase covering 17 states and UTs, Odisha’s 6.03% deletion rate was the second-lowest, after Mizoram’s 5.27%. Lakshadweep had the lowest exclusion rate across all 30 states and UTs covered by the exercise, followed by Mizoram and Odisha.

What was the main reason for voter deletions nationally?

While migration or voter absence accounted for about 70% of exclusions nationally. Deceased electors accounted for another 21% while duplicate or multiple-place registrations made up the remaining nine per cent.

Writing in International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance last year, political science professor Banasmita Bora wrote that certain segments of the population such as women, rural residents, people with low levels of or no literacy, ethnic minorities, youth and people with disabilities tend to be more vulnerable to electoral disenfranchisement. “Most migrants move within or leave India on a seasonal or temporary basis. They belong to the poor, illiterate or less educated social classes for which changing their registration every time they move is neither an attractive nor a practical option. Moreover, the costs of travelling back to their constituencies of registration are even more unaffordable,” she wrote

Migration was linked to 75% of exclusions in Uttar Pradesh and 74% each in Maharashtra and Karnataka.

Why, then, were Odisha’s deletions comparatively lower?

Several factors are responsible.

First: Odisha recorded 93.97% return rate for enumeration forms, quite high compared to other states. Only about 6.03%, or 2 million people, did not submit them and were excluded at the draft stage.

Second: Odisha had a relatively low number of duplicate registrations. Of the roughly 20.12 lakh draft-stage exclusions, 8.32 lakh were deceased voters, 10.07 lakh had permanently shifted or could not be traced, and 1.58 lakh were identified as duplicate registrations.

Third: Odisha despite having substantial outward-migration, it is mostly seasonal or circular. As migrant workers often retain their permanent addresses in Odisha, this makes them less likely to be classified as permanently shifted or absent.

Fourth: The state’s electoral rolls had already undergone scrutiny before the 2024 elections. In 2023, the Chief Electoral Officer had conducted a special summary revision drive to remove about 3.45 lakh deceased voters.

Did political parties play a role in the process?

Opposition Biju Janata Dal had approached the Election Commission in August 2025, before the SIR began in Odisha, urging that migrant workers’ names should not be removed from electoral rolls. The party which ruled the state for nearly two and half decades had a robust cadre strength at each of the constituencies for political scrutiny, along with local-level verification, may have encouraged officials to exercise greater caution while dealing with migrant and seasonally absent voters.

Was the SIR process free of controversy in Odisha?

No. The deletion of more than 20 lakh names at the draft stage triggered a political debate involving the BJP, BJD and Congress. The BJD alleged a lack of transparency and questioned the disclosure of details relating to deleted names while the Congress sought more time and a public awareness campaign to help affected voters restore their names. In Bhadrak district allegation were raised over Form-7 applications seeking deletion of names of minority voters, with residents alleging that some applicants did not live in the locality and could not have known whether the voters concerned had shifted or died. But those reported allegations and not an established finding against the electoral authorities.

Does the publication of the final roll end the process for voters who have been deleted?

The conclusion of the SIR does not end the regular process of electoral-roll revision. Voters whose names have been deleted can seek appeal first to the District Collector and then to the Chief Electoral Officer of Odisha.

They can also apply for fresh inclusion through Form 6. But as per former officials associated with the electoral process, for someone deleted during SIR due to reasons such as “permanently shifted”, “untraceable” or “duplicate”, the applicant may have to establish why that finding was incorrect. “The election machinery has already recorded a reason for the deletion and having an Aadhaar card or an old voter ID does not by itself guarantee restoration. The ERO has to be satisfied that the person is eligible and ordinarily resident in that constituency,” said the official.