BJD chief raises questions over the functioning of the Election Commission and calls for a fresh examination of the Special Intensive Revision
BHUBANESWAR: Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president and Leader of Opposition in the Odisha Assembly Naveen Patnaik has called for the immediate resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, while demanding a fresh review of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.Speaking to reporters outside the Odisha Assembly on Friday, Patnaik said the developments surrounding the functioning of the Election Commission had raised serious questions that, in his view, required a broader review of the SIR exercise.The BJD chief has been consistently raising concerns over the electoral-roll revision process in Odisha. The party has alleged that a large number of voters could be affected by the exercise and has sought greater transparency in the verification and deletion process. These remain political allegations and require verification against official electoral records.Patnaik’s latest statement comes amid a wider opposition campaign over the Election Commission’s handling of the SIR exercise. Opposition parties have questioned the manner in which voter information is being verified and how names are being dealt with during the revision process.The Election Commission and election authorities, however, have maintained that electoral-roll revision involves verification mechanisms intended to identify eligible voters and remove ineligible or duplicate entries. The official position and the opposition’s allegations therefore represent different sides of the ongoing political debate.For Odisha, the issue has now moved beyond a routine electoral-roll exercise, with the BJD linking it to voter rights, transparency and confidence in the electoral process.Patnaik’s demand for the CEC’s resignation and a review of SIR is expected to keep the issue prominent in Odisha’s political discourse as opposition parties continue to press for greater scrutiny of the electoral-roll revision process.
GTNS, 25 SEPTEMBER 2026