Paperman Media (Bhubaneswar)- A delegation of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) today met the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Odisha, and submitted a memorandum seeking an extension of the period for filing Claims and Objections under SIR-2026 by at least 30 days. BJD has demanded that the timeline be extended to ensure that every eligible voter gets a fair opportunity to participate in the electoral roll revision process and that no genuine voter is deprived of his or her right to vote.
In its memorandum, BJD stated that during the Enumeration Phase of SIR-2026, several political parties, including the BJD, had requested an extension of the enumeration period in Odisha. However, despite repeated representations, no extension was granted in the State. Subsequently, while the Election Commission extended the Enumeration Phase in certain other States, Odisha was excluded from such an extension. Although BJD had submitted memoranda on 5 July, 9 July, 15 July and 17 July 2026, no information has been provided to the party till date regarding any decision or action taken on those representations. Further, continuous rainfall and flood conditions in different parts of Odisha have seriously hampered the verification process. Under these circumstances, it has become extremely difficult for election officials, voters and Booth Level Agents (BLAs) to complete the verification process and file Claims and Objections within the existing timeline. Therefore, in the interest of ensuring fairness and impartiality in the electoral process, the period for filing Claims and Objections should be extended by at least 30 days.
Referring to the information released by the Chief Electoral Officer, Odisha, on 21 July 2026, BJD pointed out that out of the proposed 58.36 lakh notices, hearings have been completed in only 1.42 lakh cases, while a very large number of cases are still pending. The party demanded that the complete list of the 20.32 lakh Form-7 applications relating to deletion of voters' names should be made available at the booth level so that Booth Level Agents can verify every case and safeguard the rights of genuine voters. BJD stated that extending the Claims and Objections period is essential for preparing a clean and impartial electoral roll. The verification process relating to Form-6, Form-7 and all related cases during the Claims and Objections stage must be conducted in a completely transparent and impartial manner. In every Form-7 case, BLO-BLA meetings should be made mandatory after informing Booth Level Agents of all political parties. No voter's name should be deleted without recording the statement of the concerned voter, an adult member of the voter's family, or a neighbour. The proceedings of every BLO-BLA meeting should be uploaded on the BLO App to create a permanent digital record. The entire verification process should be reviewed at the levels of the BLO Supervisor, Assistant Electoral Registration Officer (AERO) and Electoral Registration Officer (ERO).
In the memorandum, BJD further requested that no Form-7 application should be approved and no Form-6 application should be rejected without proper field verification, discussion in the BLO-BLA meeting and prior intimation to the concerned voter or the voter's family. Similarly, in cases relating to "No Mapping and Anomaly", the final decision of the Assistant Electoral Registration Officer or the Electoral Registration Officer should be communicated to the concerned Booth Level Agent, who should also be provided adequate opportunity to file objections before the District Election Officer and the Chief Electoral Officer. The memorandum further stated that, as per the revised guidelines issued by the Election Commission of India regarding the appointment of Booth Level Agents, if no eligible Booth Level Agent is available from the concerned part of the electoral roll, any registered voter from the same Assembly Constituency may be appointed as a Booth Level Agent. The Chief Electoral Officer should immediately communicate these revised guidelines to all Electoral Registration Officers in the State as well as to all recognised political parties so that there is no ambiguity or inconsistency in the appointment of Booth Level Agents across Odisha.
The BJD delegation comprised Shri Devi Prasad Mishra, Shri Ananta Narayan Jena, Shri Pritiranjan Gharai, Shri Bhrugu Baxipatra, Smt. Sulochana Das, Shri Bijaya Nayak and Shri Umakanta Samantaray, among others.
