Bhubaneswar, 22 April (H.S.): The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Wednesday staged a protest outside the office of the State Chief Electoral Officer, alleging that nearly 9.8 lakh voters have been removed from the electoral rolls in Odisha.

The demonstration was led by members of the Biju Yuva Janata Dal, Biju Chhatra Janata Dal and Biju Mahila Janata Dal. Party leaders expressed serious concerns over the scale of deletions and questioned the process through which such a large number of names were excluded from the voter list.

Alleging possible political motives, BJD leaders demanded a detailed clarification on the revision of electoral rolls. They cautioned that large-scale deletions could undermine the integrity of the democratic process and potentially disenfranchise eligible voters.

“This does not appear to be an administrative lapse but a political conspiracy. It raises serious concerns about the role of the Election Commission and its alleged alignment with the BJP in weakening the opposition in key areas,” said Chinamaya Sahu, president of Biju Yuva Janata Dal.

---------------

Hindusthan Samachar / Monalisa Panda