Odisha SIR: Malkangiri records 27,653 deletions, highest in the State

Malkangiri, the southernmost Assembly segment of Odisha and with a large number of settlers from Bangladesh, has recorded the highest voter deletions – 27,653 – from the electoral roll following the first phase of the special intensive revision (SIR) in the State.

The deletion constituted 10.96% of total voters. Before the SIR, Malkangiri had 2,52,147 electors. The constituency has voters who had migrated from Bangladesh in early 1950s and mid-1980s. Then Odisha government had settled them by establishing special villages.

Names of over 20 lakh voters were deleted in the draft report of SIR published on July 5. Before the SIR, Odisha’s total number of electors stood at 3,33,99,591, which came down to 3,13,87,034. Of the deleted voters, 8.32 lakh or 2.49% were deceased, while 10.07 lakh voters (3.02%) were either absent or had shifted.

District-wise, Ganjam, which sends the highest number of migrant labourers to different parts of country and outside, has the highest deletion of 2,07,626 voters followed by Cuttack district with 1,55,164.

There were nine such Assembly constituencies which recorded 20,000-plus deletions each. More than half of these assembly segments are known as migration-prone pockets. Of the total 147 Assembly constituencies, 40 segments had deletions of over 15,000 each.

The Biju Janata Dal on Sunday (June 5, 2026) challenged the draft report of first phase of SIR. It said 27 lakh voters were deleted from the electoral roll as against the claimed exclusion of 20 Lakh. The Congress also expressed concerns over large number of deletions.

Sushanta Kumar Mishra, Additional Chief Electoral Officer, said abnormality was noticed in the first phase of SIR as names of electors who had died had to be deleted while 10.07 lakh voters were either absent or had shifted. “All those whose names did not find a place in the draft report will be provided adequate opportunities for appeal,” he said.