BJD Joins INDIA Bloc March In Delhi Over SIR 'Voter Roll Deletions'

The Biju Janata Dal (BJD), which has maintained an equidistant position from the BJP-led NDA and the Opposition INDIA bloc, on Tuesday joined the latter’s protest march in Delhi against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and alleged deletion of voters’ names. 

All five Rajya Sabha members of the regional party participated in the march following instructions from BJD president Naveen Patnaik.

BJD parliamentary party leader Manas Mangaraj



said the party decided to join the protest after its repeated requests to the Odisha Chief Electoral Officer to review names allegedly deleted from electoral rolls during the SIR exercise went unaddressed. 

“BJD president Naveen Patnaik instructed the party’s Rajya Sabha MPs to participate in the Opposition parties’ march. This was done to register our protest against the Election Commission’s inaction to address our grievance,” Mangaraj told reporters in New Delhi.