The state had 3,26,55,213 voters till October last year. While 12,97,954 names were added, 7,16,807 were deleted and 4,22,638 modified, he added.

According to the final electoral rolls, the state witnessed a substantial rise in women voters from 1.60 crore till October 27, 2023, to 1.63 crore while the gender ratio improved to 972 as against 961 in 2023. It has put the number of male voters at 1.68 crore and transgenders at 3,380.

A total of 4,70,798 more young voters have also registered. In November, 2023, the CEO had started a campaign to grab the eyeballs of youths and cricket loving netizens by using catchy taglines like ‘Just like every run counts, Every vote matters’ with hashtag of ICC Men’s World Cup while asking them not to lose the last opportunity to get themselves registered as a voter and cast your vote in the upcoming general elections.

Of the total electors, 7.54 lakh (2.27%) are young voters, 4.57 lakh (1.38%) persons with disabilities and 6.85 lakh (2.06%) senior citizens.

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This came amid speculation about his role in the ruling party, which he joined last month after taking voluntary retirement from service in October.

“Pandian today cleared his stand on fighting the upcoming elections. He himself announced that he would not contest the 2024 elections. But as a dedicated worker, he will continue to strengthen the party,” Mishra said, adding that there should be no problem if he decides to contest the polls, but people should refrain from spreading rumours.

Former Balasore MP Rabindra Kumar Jena said Pandian will work for the BJD in all 147 Assembly constituencies in the state. “The former bureaucrat will work towards strengthening the BJD under the leadership of our party president Naveen Patnaik,” he said.

BJD MLA Sandip Routray told reporters that Pandian informed the meeting that he would continue to work for the party and unite it further. “Since Odisha has gained a reputation of well-governed state, he will work to increase the popularity of the party,” he added.

Nikunja B Dhal, Chief Electoral Officer, Odisha briefed Senior Deputy Election Commissioners (DECs) Dharmendra Sharma and Nitesh Ku Vyas at the review meeting with 30 district election officers and collectors at Kharavela Bhawan in Bhubaneswar on December 12 and 13.

Dhal outlined the overall progress of SSR and general preparedness of state machinery for the elections in 2024 while the Collectors made a detailed presentation.

Senior DECs emphasised on early disposal of all pending forms for addition, deletion and corrections before the scheduled time fixed by the ECI. They directed to focus on women, young, elderly, PwD, Third Gender and PVTG electors to ensure that the Electoral Roll is inclusive. Consultation with political parties and stakeholders was also stressed.

They said careful and diligent field verification for deletions and additions should be followed for the purity of Electoral Roll. The collectors were sensitised on vulnerability mapping. They were also instructed to identify possible routes of movement of cash, liquor, drugs and ensure effective enforcement mechanisms for inducement-free elections.

Sajay Kumar, Addl DG (Law and Order) and senior officers of the CEO office were present during the review meeting.

The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Odisha and the Additional Chief Secretary inaugurated the workshop which was attended by the collectors of all districts, additional district collectors and district election officers. The Commission holds the FLC to ensure transparency and operation of the EVMS.

The officers of the Election Commission, CEO and Electronic Corporation of Indian Ltd (ECIL) conducted the workshop. The ECIL and the Bharat Electronics Limited, a public sector undertaking under the Ministry of Defence, manufacture the EVMs and VVPATs for the Election Commission.

In its annual report for 2020-21, the ECIL had said it would go for mass production of EVMs required for the general elections in 2024.