Bhubaneswar: Odisha cadre IAS officer R S Gopalan, currently serving as Odisha’s chief electoral officer (CEO), on Wednesday applied for voluntary retirement from service.The move comes amid heightened scrutiny of the Election Commission of India over special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. However, Gopalan said his decision was unrelated to the exercise. “I have submitted my papers for personal and health reasons. I want to focus on certain personal matters,” Gopalan told TOI.A 2001-batch IAS officer, Gopalan said he had been contemplating leaving the service for several months but chose to wait until smooth completion of the SIR process and the final publication of the electoral rolls in Odisha.After SIR, Odisha’s electoral roll of 3.16 crore voters was published on Sept 21 with opposition BJD and Congress questioning the deletion of around 17 lakh voters.Tamil Nadu-born Gopalan had about a year-and-a-half service remaining. Sources said he is likely to stay in Odisha for around two years to allow his son to complete his schooling before deciding on his future plans.Gopalan has served as Odisha CEO since July 2024. During his 25-year career, he has held several key positions, including deputy director-general of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), labour department secretary and agriculture director, among other assignments.
