Who is R Santhana Gopalan? Odisha CEO seeks voluntary retirement after SIR

Odisha Chief Electoral Officer R Santhana Gopalan has applied for voluntary retirement, days after the completion of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state.

Gopalan, a 2001-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Odisha cadre, submitted his application on Wednesday, about a week after the SIR process was completed. People aware of the matter said he cited personal and health reasons unrelated to the electoral roll exercise.

The development comes after the SIR in Odisha drew criticism from the Opposition over the deletion of voter names. The revised electoral roll, covering 31.6 million voters, was published on September 21. The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and Congress questioned the deletion of around 1.7 million names.

Who is R Santhana Gopalan?

Gopalan is a 2001-batch IAS officer from the Odisha cadre and has served in the administration for around 25 years. He is originally from Tamil Nadu and has about 18 months of service remaining.

He took charge as Odisha’s chief electoral officer in July 2024 and oversaw the SIR exercise that concluded recently.

Before becoming chief electoral officer, Gopalan also served as deputy director-general at the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).

According to people familiar with the matter, Gopalan had been considering voluntary retirement for several months. He reportedly chose to wait until the SIR process was completed and the revised electoral roll was published before submitting his application.

Why is Gopalan’s retirement significant?

Gopalan’s decision comes at a time when the Election Commission of India is facing scrutiny over the implementation of SIR in different states.

The Indian Express recently reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had recorded objections to decisions taken in the ECI’s name on at least 14 occasions over a 10-month period. The reported disagreements included issues related to Form 6, centralisation of controls, voter deletion appeals in West Bengal and the inclusion of eligible voters in Goa.

However, people aware of Gopalan’s decision said his reasons for seeking voluntary retirement were personal and health-related and were not connected to the SIR exercise.

Odisha cadre has seen other resignations

Gopalan’s application also comes amid several resignations and voluntary retirements by Odisha-cadre IAS and IPS officers in recent years.

In October 2023, IAS officer VK Pandian took voluntary retirement before joining the BJD. His wife, IAS officer Sujata Karthikeyan, resigned in March 2025 and joined the party in June.

IPS officer Jagmohan Meena took voluntary retirement last month to join a corporate house, while IPS officer CA Ramdas resigned earlier this year while undergoing training at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy in Hyderabad.