Bhubaneswar, Jan 13: The number of polling booths has significantly increased in Odisha as part of preparations for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, officials said.

Ahead of the SIR exercise, the state has added around 7,000 new polling booths, taking the total number from about 36,000 earlier to nearly 43,000 at present.

Booth Rationalisation Completed
Officials said the expansion has been carried out to ensure better voter management during the revision process. Under the revised arrangement, each polling booth will have a maximum of 1,200 voters or fewer.

“All required processes related to booth rationalisation have been completed,” officials said, adding that Booth Level Officers (BLOs) have been appointed at all polling stations across the state.

Odisha Ready for SIR Exercise
Preparations for implementing the Special Intensive Revision in Odisha have been underway for the past five months, officials confirmed. With the creation of nearly 43,000 polling booths, the state administration said it is fully prepared to conduct the revision exercise.

The objective of SIR is to update and verify electoral rolls to ensure accuracy and inclusiveness.

Data Integration Underway
Officials informed that the latest Special Intensive Revision was conducted in Odisha in 2002. Voters whose names appeared in the 2002 electoral roll and continue to appear in the 2025 roll will not require further correction. In such cases, only the addition of eligible family members, including sons and daughters, will be carried out where applicable.

Authorities confirmed that the electoral data from 2002 and 2025 has already been integrated, with around 70 per cent of voter data mapping completed so far.

Verification Process
Officials said voters whose names are not found during the data-mapping process will be required to submit additional documents for verification. Further details regarding the verification process will be communicated during the SIR exercise.

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The Election Commission’s efforts aim to ensure an updated and error-free voter list ahead of future elections, officials added.