TNI Bureau: The State Election Commissioner (SEC), Madhusudan Padhi, has announced that municipal elections in the newly declared urban areas of Odisha will be completed by the end of June. As per rules, elections must be held within six months of an area being declared a municipality or NAC (Notified Area Council).

The state government had issued a notification in December declaring 24 new NACs and municipalities across 14 districts. Accordingly, the SEC has informed the government that elections in these areas will be conducted and the first council meetings will be held by the end of June.

Mr Padhi reviewed election preparedness at the Ganjam District Council Conference Hall. The meeting was attended by Southern Revenue Commissioner Sangram Keshari Mahapatra, SEC Secretary Santosh Das, and collectors, additional collectors, sub-collectors, district panchayat officers, and the Berhampur Municipal Corporation Commissioner from eight southern districts.

The SEC said boundary delimitation in the 24 newly declared NACs will be completed by March, followed by reservation of seats and the start of the election process. Preparation of voter lists will take 45 days, while the polling process will take 35 days, ensuring that results are declared by the end of June.

The newly declared NACs include Pallahada, Simulia, Sohela, Tihidi, Dhusuri, Salepur, Badamba, Narsinghpur, Gandia, Jagannathprasad, Patrapur, Narla, Jayapatna, Tangi, Borigumma, Betanati, Bangiriposi, Chitrada, Kaptipada, Rasagobindapur, Bisamkatak, Bamra, Rengali and Birmaharajpur.

Separately, the SEC confirmed that regular local body elections will be held on schedule. Panchayat elections will be completed by February 2027, municipal elections by March 2027, and municipal corporation elections by April 2027.

Mr Padhi directed officials to ensure that all elections are conducted in a free, fair and transparent manner. He also reviewed past shortcomings and discussed measures such as door-to-door voter list revision, booth-level surveys, verification of ballot boxes and EVMs, and closure of temporary booths to strengthen election management.