Bhubaneswar, 15 October (H.S.): The Odisha State Election Commission will launch a door-to-door survey on October 26 to prepare voter lists for the 2027 panchayat and urban local body elections. The survey will continue until November 7, State Election Commissioner Madhusudan Padhi announced on Thursday.

The draft electoral rolls will be published on January 1, 2027, followed by a 20-day window for voters to submit claims and objections. After verification and disposal of the claims and objections, the final electoral rolls will be published on February 10, 2027.

Addressing a press conference organised by the State Election Commission, Padhi said the survey aims to ensure accurate, transparent and well-organised electoral rolls ahead of the upcoming elections.

A key objective of the exercise is to ensure that all eligible voters belonging to a family are assigned to the same polling station and that voters from the same locality can vote at a common polling station, wherever feasible.

The survey will facilitate the sequential listing of family members in the electoral roll of the same ward and polling booth. A unique house number will be assigned to each household, linking all registered voters in the family to that number.

The Commission has also requested all political parties to appoint booth-level agents to help make the survey more inclusive and transparent.

Following the publication of the draft electoral rolls on January 1, voters will be able to verify their names and other particulars and submit claims or objections in case of omissions, errors or discrepancies.

Different forms have been prescribed for rural areas, urban local bodies and municipal corporation areas for the inclusion, correction or deletion of names.

For adding names or seeking corrections, Form 16 will be used in rural areas, Form III in urban areas and Form VII in municipal corporation areas. For objections seeking the deletion of names, Form 17 will be applicable in rural areas, Form IV in urban areas and Form VIII in municipal corporation areas.

Claims and objections received after publication of the draft rolls will be examined by the Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) and Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), who will take necessary action in accordance with the prescribed rules.

The final electoral rolls will be published on February 10, 2027, completing the scheduled process ahead of the elections.

The door-to-door survey will be conducted by field-level personnel, including Booth-Level Officers (BLOs), Anganwadi workers, Jal Sathis, Swachh Sathis and ASHA workers, who will collect the necessary information from households.

Panchayat Executive Officers (PEOs), BLO supervisors, AEROs and EROs will be responsible for supervising the exercise and ensuring its proper implementation.

The Commission said the entire process would be completed within the stipulated timeline to facilitate the preparation of electoral rolls for the 2027 panchayat and urban local body elections.

State Election Commission Secretary Santosh Kumar Dash and Deputy Secretary Durga Charan Murmu were also present at the press conference.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Monalisa Panda