BJD chief constitutes panel to monitor appointment of BLAs ahead of SIR in Odisha

Ahead of the beginning of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Odisha from July 1, the opposition BJD on Wednesday constituted a panel of senior leaders to monitor the appointment of Booth Level Agents (BLAs) across assembly segments.

BJD president Naveen Patnaik, in an office order, said that the party's state-level team will monitor and supervise the appointment of BLAs in all assembly constituencies, their training, capacity building and other related works.

The six-member panel comprised senior leaders like Pramila Mallik, Niranjan Pujari, Pratap Jena, Sasmit Patra, Bhrugu Baxipatra and Bijay Nayak.

''The state-level monitoring team will immediately start reviewing the status of BLA appointments and training in all constituencies and report to the BJD president on a weekly basis. This order shall come into force with immediate effect,'' the order said.

Earlier in a petition to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, BJD MP Sasmit Patra, who is also a member of the newly formed panel, urged the ECI to consider certain measures to help ensure a transparent, accurate, and error-free SIR process in Odisha.

The opposition party urged the ECI to ensure that every proposed deletion is preceded by proper, documented, and verifiable field inquiry in accordance with prescribed procedures, provide adequate advance notice and reasonable opportunity to respond to every elector proposed for deletion and strengthen supervision and monitoring mechanisms in areas reporting high volumes of deletions or objections.

The BJD leader also urged the ECI to ensure accessible, time-bound, and citizen-friendly grievance redressal mechanisms for affected electors, facilitate transparency through periodic public disclosure of constituency-wise progress and categories of corrections or deletions, undertake focused outreach measures for vulnerable and remote populations, including elderly voters, tribal communities, migrant workers, women, and persons with disabilities.

The party also requested the ECI to ensure effective coordination with recognised political parties and Booth Level Agents (BLAs) to minimise discrepancies and strengthen public confidence in the SIR process, and consider deployment of dedicated review or observer teams in Odisha during critical stages of the SIR exercise.

''Timely preventive and corrective measures at this stage would significantly reinforce public confidence in the integrity, inclusiveness, and credibility of the electoral process,'' Patra said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)