The pilot exercise aims to identify shortcomings in the existing voter lists and develop a more transparent, accurate and systematic system for preparing electoral rolls for the upcoming local body elections.
Odisha SEC To Conduct Pilot Survey From Sept 3: The Odisha State Election Commission (SEC) is set to undertake a special pilot survey in the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) area. The move will help to identify and rectify discrepancies in electoral rolls ahead of the upcoming panchayat and municipal elections.The pilot door-to-door survey will be conducted from September 3 to 11 across three selected wards under three Assembly constituencies within the BMC limits.
According to State Election Commissioner Madhusudan Padhi, the exercise will cover Ward No. 10 of the Bhubaneswar-North Assembly constituency, Ward No. 35 of Bhubaneswar-Central Assembly Constituency and Ward No. 52 of Bhubaneswar-Ekamra Assembly Constituency. Following the pilot survey, the SEC plans to conduct a statewide door-to-door verification drive from October 26 to November 7. The exercise will cover electoral rolls relating to panchayat and urban local body constituencies across Odisha. The pilot exercise aims to identify shortcomings in the existing voter lists and develop a more transparent, accurate and systematic system for preparing electoral rolls for the upcoming local body elections.
According to the SEC, the survey seeks to resolve long standing issues such as members of the same family being enrolled at different polling booths. Discrepancies or ambiguity in house numbers. In several urban areas, Assembly polling booths do not have clearly defined geographical boundaries. As a result, voters from 10 to 12 different localities may be attached to a single polling booth.
In some instances, voters residing in one ward are required to cast their votes at polling stations located in another ward. Such arrangements can cause inconvenience and may discourage voters from visiting polling stations to cast their votes.
The new exercise is expected to help ensure that members of a family are assigned to the same polling station wherever feasible. Similarly, where voters belonging to the same ward have been included in the electoral rolls of different wards, the discrepancies will be examined and corrected.
Officials also expect the exercise to contribute to improving voter turnout in urban areas, where polling percentages have traditionally been lower than desired. The SEC urges citizens to provide correct and complete information during the door-to-door verification process so that discrepancies in the electoral rolls can be identified and corrected. Citizens also need to cooperate fully with survey teams, including Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and other officials.
The SEC believes that rationalizing polling booth and voter-list arrangements will make the voting process easier and more convenient for citizens.
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