Ekamra-bhubaneswar

BJD has decided not to take part in the 12-hour Odisha bandh called by INDIA bloc parties on 8 October. The shutdown is against the new mining law, errors in school textbooks and the Special Intensive Revision or SIR of electoral rolls.

Senior BJD leader and Opposition Chief Whip Pramila Mallik said the party will stay away from both the BJP-led NDA and the Congress-led Opposition. She made it clear that BJD is not part of any bloc and will not back any programme of any group. Honestly, the flip-flop was quick. Mallik first backed the bandh in the morning, then retracted the statement within hours.

BJD stays neutral while Opposition pushes for bandh

Her stand came a day after BJD MPs joined an Opposition march in New Delhi seeking the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the SIR process. Mallik said Naveen Patnaik has asked for action against the CEC for allegedly misleading voters and youth and mishandling the voter list. The MPs joined the rally, she added, but the party has joined no political alliance.

Nine INDIA bloc parties, including Congress, CPI, CPI(M), CPI(ML) Liberation, Forward Bloc, NCP (Sharad Pawar), Samajwadi Party, RJD and JMM, held a meeting in Bhubaneswar and appealed to people to take part. They also took a pledge to protect Article 326 of the Constitution, which guarantees elections on the basis of adult suffrage. Hospitals, ambulances, fire services, medicine shops and milk supply will stay exempt from the bandh.

Odisha BJP president Manmohan Samal said the bandh will have no impact on daily life. The state government has told district collectors and superintendents of police to maintain law and order during the shutdown.

Left off Odisha's voter list? Electoral authorities in Odisha are running a special registration drive from October 7 to October 9 to help eligible citizens get back on the state's voter rolls.

The drive comes after the recent Special Summary Revision (SIR) pushed the voter count down from roughly 3.33 crore to about 3.16 crore registered electors. That drop raised many concerns.

If your name was removed during the SIR, or if you turned 18 on or before October 1, you can submit a Form-6 application to your designated Booth Level Officer (BLO) during this three-day window.

Public inspection portals are also being set up so citizens can check lists of people marked as dead, relocated, absent, or duplicate. If any valid elector was wrongly removed, residents can file formal claims or objections. Recognised political parties can also review these records and challenge suspect omissions.

What election officials are saying

Election officials say the drive aims to keep the voter rolls accurate and clear. Every eligible citizen should use this chance to fix their status before the window closes.

Bhubaneswar is leading a major voter list cleanup drive. A special three-day campaign starts on October 7 across Odisha to fix gaps created during Special Intensive Revision (SIR)-2026.

The campaign runs from October 7 to 9. Its main job is simple. Bring back eligible voters who were accidentally left out of the final voter list. Also, register all newly eligible young citizens who turned 18 by 1 October 2026.

Young men and women can submit Form-6 through their Booth Level Officer (BLO) to get added to the electoral roll. It is that straightforward. Eligible voters missing from the SIR-2026 final list get a fresh chance too.

The list of deceased, transferred, absent and duplicate voters identified during SIR will be put up on the websites of the concerned district authorities and CEO Odisha. Anyone wrongly left out can file claims and objections. Recognised political parties will also receive the list for cross-checking.

Get in touch with your BLO early

All BLOs at district level have been trained well. They are ready to guide and support voters during these three days. The advice is simple. Do not wait. Contact your BLO right away if your name is missing or if you have recently turned 18.

Chief Electoral Officer's office has urged every eligible person in Odisha to use this window and apply through Form-6 before October 9 ends.

Congress in Odisha has called for a statewide bandh on October 8. The party is demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. This is over alleged mass deletion of voter names during the special intensive revision of electoral rolls.

Other demands and protests

The party has also asked for:

• Rollback of the amended MMDR Act
• School minister Nityananda Gond to step down over errors in school textbooks

Congress Odisha president Bhakta Charan Das said the INDIA bloc will hold a protest rally near the assembly in Bhubaneswar. They have sought support from all partner parties. A Parivartan Rally is also planned for October 7 in Keonjhar district.

BJP MLA Tankadhar Tripathy dismissed the allegations. He said there was no manipulation of electoral rolls. He also said the government has already started action against those responsible for the textbook errors.

BJD president and Leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik has asked Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to resign right away. He also wants a full review of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls.

Naveen made this demand after reports showed that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi raised objections at least 14 times in the past 10 months. The objections were about voter registration, deletion, and bringing back removed names.

"Because of the strong differences between the various Election Commissioners, the Chief Election Commissioner should resign immediately, and the entire SIR process should be looked into again," Naveen said to reporters in Bhubaneswar. BJD has been against the SIR process from day one.

This demand came a day after many Opposition parties intensified their campaign against Kumar. They asked for his removal and a stop to the SIR exercise. Election Commission said the differences are part of how the institution works. BJP argues it shows democratic functioning.

SIR Becomes a Political Flashpoint

The SIR has turned into a big political issue in Odisha. BJD says over 25 lakh eligible voters were left out of the final voter list. Election authorities say deletions are around 17.67 lakh. The party wants names restored and corrective steps taken.

Naveen also took aim at BJP over changes to the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act. He questioned why the Opposition should be blamed when 20 BJP MPs from Odisha supported the Bill in Parliament. BJD has announced a statewide protest on this issue. Naveen himself is set to attend BJD's protest in Bhubaneswar on September 28.

Odisha has published the final voter list after the Special Intensive Revision 2026. Chief Electoral Officer R.S. Gopalan confirmed that 3,16,32,754 people are now registered to vote. This update follows a checking process that removed over 20 lakh unverified entries from the records.

Voter list updates

The total number of voters grew by 2,45,720 since the draft list came out in July. Authorities also increased the number of polling stations to 45,250 to make voting easier. Residents in Ekamra-bhubaneswar, Bhubaneswar Central, and Bhubaneswar North should check their registration status now to make sure their details are correct.

You can check your name and polling station details on the official websites at voters.eci.gov.in or ceoodisha.nic.in. If you find mistakes or need to register, you can submit the required forms online or at your local election office.