Bhubaneswar Central

Odisha State Election Commission has started preparations for 2027 Panchayat and Urban Local Body Elections. The first big step is a house-to-house voter survey starting October 26.

A meeting with recognised political parties was held at the SEC office conference hall in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday, chaired by State Election Commissioner Madhusudan Padhi. Parties shared their views on how electoral rolls should be prepared and revised.

The survey will check voter details, add eligible names, remove ineligible or shifted or deceased entries, and fix mistakes. Simply put, your voter entry gets checked at your doorstep.

Parties have been asked to appoint Booth-Level Agents (BLAs) at every polling station in the state and submit their details by October 15. In rural areas, details go to the Block Development Officer. In NACs and Municipalities, they go to the Executive Officer. In Municipal Corporations, they go to the Deputy Commissioner or Assistant Commissioner concerned.

Padhi called an accurate electoral roll the foundation of a good election system and stressed clear, fair processes and people involved at every stage.

What voters should do

The real test will be voter cooperation during the survey. Keep your ID proof and details ready when the team knocks. The Commission has asked everyone to stay alert so no eligible voter is missed and no ineligible name slips in.

Odisha State Election Commission has called an all-party meeting in Bhubaneswar to plan a clean and clear voter list ahead of the 2027 Panchayat and Urban Local Body elections.

State Election Commissioner Madhusudan Padhi led the session. Representatives from all recognised political parties shared their feedback and operational concerns.

An extensive door-to-door survey will start across the state on October 26, 2026. The goal is simple. Add eligible new voters, remove duplicate and deceased electors, and fix address shifts. That is how a clean electoral roll gets built.

How BLAs will be used

Parties must appoint Booth Level Agents by October 15

Commissioner Padhi asked all political parties to appoint Booth Level Agents, or BLAs, at every single polling station. These agents will keep a close eye on field verification to make sure nothing goes wrong.

Parties need to send their BLA details to the Assistant Electoral Registration Officers by October 15, 2026. In rural areas, these officers are Block Development Officers. In Municipalities and NACs, they are Executive Officers. In Municipal Corporations, Deputy or Assistant Commissioners handle the process.

Bhubaneswar: State Election Commission met with political parties on 6 October 2026. The goal was to prepare a clean voter list for the Panchayat and Urban Elections 2027. State Election Commissioner Madhusudan Padhi chaired the meeting.

Voter list survey and BLA data submission

House-to-house survey starts on 26 October. Teams will add eligible voters to the list. They will also remove names of deceased and transferred persons and fix any mistakes.

Parties need to deploy Booth Level Agents at every polling station. BLA data must be submitted by 15 October. In rural areas, the data goes to the Assistant Electoral Registration Officer and BDO. In urban areas, it goes to the Executive Officer of NAC or Municipality. In corporations, it goes to the Deputy Commissioner or Assistant Commissioner.

Padhi said an accurate voter list is the foundation of a fair election. Parties shared suggestions and assured full cooperation in the survey.

Odisha State Election Commission has started training its officials ahead of the 2027 panchayat and urban local body elections. The training programme was held at Bhubaneswar, chaired by State Election Commissioner Madhusudan Padhi.

The goal is simple. Make voter lists accurate through door-to-door surveys across the state. Officers got training on electoral preparations, voter list revision, field-level surveys and election management. Padhi stressed that accuracy and clear processes must come first at every stage.

What officers were told to focus on

Officers were asked to make sure no eligible voter is left out. Errors in names, addresses and other details need to be fixed quickly. House-to-house verification is the key method being used.

SEC Secretary Santosh Kumar Das gave the welcome address. Several officials then spoke about different parts of the process:

• Municipal Director Arindam Dakua covered surveys for municipal elections.
• Joint Secretary Surya Narayan Dash covered panchayat election aspects.
• Bhubaneswar Deputy Collector Minoranja Sahu and BLO Supervisor Sudhakar Behera shared experiences from pilot surveys.

A question-answer session helped officers clear their doubts about the whole process.

Four big Left parties, CPI, CPI(M), CPI(ML) Liberation, and All India Forward Bloc, held a large rally on Mahatma Gandhi Marg in Bhubaneswar on Friday. They raised serious concerns about how voter lists are being revised and how names are being deleted during recent summary revision drives.

Protesters said that over the past ten months, Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi raised objections at least 14 times about voter registration, deletion, restoration, and electoral data handling. Party leaders demanded full public audits instead of routine press statements.

Main demands of Left Front:

They want Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar removed right away and an independent probe into all complaints. They also called for a complete stop to the current SIR process, quick restoration of wrongly removed eligible voters, and strict follow-through on Supreme Court guidelines about Election Commissioner appointments.

Senior state leaders, including Dr Prasant Kumar Mishra, Suresh Chandra Panigrahi, Yudhishthira Mahapatra, and Jyoti Ranjan Mahapatra, spoke at the rally along with hundreds of party workers. They stressed that India's electoral system matters a lot for democracy itself.

They announced plans to start mass movements nationwide around the birth anniversaries of Bhagat Singh and Mahatma Gandhi. Trade unions, farmers, youth, students, women's groups, and civil society are invited to join.

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.