Politics · India · 3 hrs ago
Odisha to use paper ballots in rural polls and EVMs in urban polls
Odisha will use paper ballots in panchayat polls and electronic voting machines (EVMs) in urban local body polls next year.
State Election Commissioner Madhusudan Padhi said the state would need about 336,000 EVMs for panchayat voting, a number that is not available, and said using them would be costly.
The decision applies to the 2027 rural and urban local elections in the Indian state.
A house-to-house survey to prepare electoral rolls begins on October 26, 2026, with staff checking voter details and household information.
The survey aims to keep families at the same polling station and group voters in the same locality at a common station.
Draft rolls are due on January 1, 2027, and voters will have 20 days to submit claims or objections.
Final electoral rolls are scheduled for February 10.
Odisha will continue using paper ballots for panchayat elections and use EVMs for urban local body elections scheduled for 2027.
State Election Commissioner Madhusudan Padhi said the state lacks the EVMs needed for panchayat polls, and their use would be costly.
A house-to-house survey to prepare electoral rolls for the elections will begin on October 26, 2026.
Draft electoral rolls are due to be published on January 1, 2027, and final rolls on February 10.
- Who
- Odisha voters will vote in the panchayat and municipal elections; State Election Commissioner Madhusudan Padhi announced the arrangements.
- What
- Paper ballots will be used in panchayat polls and EVMs in urban local body polls.
- When
- The elections are slated for 2027. The electoral-roll survey begins on October 26, 2026.
- Where
- Odisha.
- Why
- The state does not have the roughly 3.36 lakh EVMs needed for panchayat polling, and using them would cost more.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Personnel will begin household visits to collect information for the electoral-roll survey.
Draft electoral rolls are due to be published.
Final electoral rolls are due to be published.
- Panchayat polling
- Paper ballots
- Urban local body polling
- EVMs
- Panchayat booths
- Around 91,000
- EVMs needed for panchayat polls
- Around 3.36 lakh
- Survey begins
- October 26, 2026
- Final electoral rolls
- February 10, 2027
What people are saying
We have around 91,000 booths across the State for panchayat polls, and we will require four EVMs per booth. The number of EVMs required for panchayat polls will be around 3.36 lakh. This quantity of EVMs is not available, and the usage of EVMs also costs high.
on the other hand, a large number of voters cast their votes in booths in urban centres and two EVMs are required for every booth. So, EVMs will be used in towns and cities.
The primary objective of the survey is to ensure that all voters belonging to a family can cast their votes at the same polling station and that voters residing in the same locality can vote at a common polling station.