Odisha CEO Meets Parties Ahead of Electoral Roll Revision for 2019 Polls

Odisha’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Surendra Kumar met representatives of the state’s political parties in Bhubaneswar ahead of the revision of electoral rolls for the coming general election. The revision is to begin on September 1, the date set by the Election Commission.

Who attended and what was discussed

Finance Minister Sashi Bhusan Behera represented the BJD, Samir Mohanty and Pitambar Acharya the BJP, and Congress vice-president Shivananda Ray his party. The meeting focused on ensuring free and fair elections. According to sources, the agenda covered roll revision, the appointment of booth-level agents, the use of EVMs and VVPAT machines, and the creation of new polling booths.

The CEO said parties had been asked to cooperate with the revision. He said their field workers should make sure that young people, women, SC/ST voters and voters with disabilities were not left out, that any errors in the rolls should be corrected, and that booth rationalisation would be carried out at the district level. He added that all parties attended and none raised a complaint during the meeting.

BJP’s objection

BJP spokesperson Pitambar Acharya, however, alleged that the rationalisation of polling booths had broken Election Commission guidelines and that the irregularities were meant to benefit the ruling BJD.

What happened next

In the 2019 Odisha assembly election, held alongside the Lok Sabha polls, the Biju Janata Dal won 112 seats, the BJP 23 and the Congress 9, and Naveen Patnaik remained chief minister.

See also: Elections

Originally published on 31 August 2018. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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