Malkangiri tops Odisha voter deletions with 27,653 removals in electoral roll revision
Malkangiri, the southernmost Assembly constituency in Odisha and home to a large number of settlers originally from Bangladesh, has recorded the highest number of voter deletions in the state during the first phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. A total of 27,653 names were removed, constituting 10.96 per cent of the constituency's electorate.
Before the revision, Malkangiri had 2,52,147 electors. The constituency includes individuals who migrated from Bangladesh in the early 1950s and mid-1980s, whom the Odisha government settled by establishing special villages.
Statewide, the draft electoral roll published on July 5 showed that over 20 lakh names were deleted. Odisha's total number of electors before the revision was 3,33,99,591; after deletion, it fell to 3,13,87,034. Of the deleted voters, 8.32 lakh (2.49%) were deceased, while 10.07 lakh voters (3.02%) were either absent from their registered address or had shifted permanently.
District-wise, Ganjam — which sends the highest number of migrant labourers to different parts of India and abroad — recorded the highest deletion of 2,07,626 voters, followed by Cuttack district with 1,55,164 deletions.
Nine Assembly constituencies witnessed deletions exceeding 20,000 each, with more than half of these segments known as migration-prone areas. Out of the 147 Assembly constituencies, 40 had deletions of over 15,000 each.
The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on June 5, 2026, challenged the draft report, stating that 27 lakh voters were deleted as against the claimed 20 lakh. The Congress party also expressed concerns over the large number of deletions.
Additional Chief Electoral Officer Sushanta Kumar Mishra stated that the first phase of SIR showed expected abnormalities, as names of deceased electors had to be removed, and 10.07 lakh voters were either absent or had shifted. He assured that all individuals whose names were missing from the draft report would be provided adequate opportunities to file appeals.
