Bhubaneswar: The BJD has joined the opposition parties in demanding a discussion on duplicate voter ID numbers, with party leader Sasmit Patra submitting a notice in the Rajya Sabha for a debate on the issue.
Patra has given a notice under Rule 267, which allows members to move for the suspension of rules to discuss urgent matters, and said duplications should be urgently removed, according to a source.
Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leaders, who had earlier raised concern over “unusual” variances in the votes cast in the 2024 parliamentary and the assembly elections in Odisha, will also submit a follow-up memorandum on the issue to the Election Commission (EC) on Tuesday.
In its memorandum to the poll panel last December, the BJD had said serious discrepancies were found between the Form 17-C filled by presiding officers and the Form-20 filled by returning officers.
Discrepancies were also found in the number of votes polled in assembly segments and corresponding parliamentary constituencies across all 21 Lok Sabha seats. The variations ranged from 4,056 votes in Dhenkanal to 3,521 votes in Kandhamal, and 2,701 votes in Balangir, it said.
Elections to the Odisha Assembly and the Lok Sabha were held concurrently in the state in 2024.
The BJD also claimed in its memorandum that Odisha had the “highest difference” between votes polled and counted, ranging from 2 per cent to 30 per cent.
Several MPs from opposition INDIA bloc parties on Monday submitted notices in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, demanding a discussion on duplicate voter ID numbers.
The BJD, which has seven members in the Upper House, is not a constituent of the INDIA bloc.
