6 months ago
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A conception of booth-level officers (BLOs), tasked with carrying retired door-to-door verification for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of West Bengal’s electoral rolls, during a grooming league astatine Kolkata’s Nazrul Mancha auditorium demanded clarity connected attendance issues for their regular authorities duties and connected information measures being taken for their information during the SIR exercise.
Training programmes for BLOs began crossed the State connected Saturday (November 1, 2025) and volition reason wrong November 3, a time earlier BLOs are expected to task retired for door-to-door visits for elector verification for SIR. Roughly 80,000 BLOs crossed West Bengal are expected to get trained connected however to transportation retired door-to-door visits, capable emuneration forms, run the mobile exertion for BLOs, utilise the BLO kit and coordinate with governmental party-appointed booth level agents (BLAs) for SIR.
“BLOs volition sojourn each location nether a polling booth, assistance electors capable emuneration forms and enactment up the information connected the BLO app. Photographs of the electors volition besides beryllium attached with the emuneration form. The collected information volition past beryllium verified by the predetermination registration officials. Electors volition besides beryllium capable to scope retired to BLOs done the ECINET app. There volition beryllium astatine slightest 1 BLO per polling booth,” sources astatine the bureau of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) said.
BLOs appointed crossed respective Assembly constituencies successful southbound Kolkata attended a grooming programme successful Nazrul Mancha connected Saturday, wherever a conception of them staged an agitation demanding clarity connected whether they would beryllium kept ‘on-duty’ successful their regular jobs portion they transportation retired location visits for SIR.
“The BLOs appointed for SIR are employed with the authorities already. Most of them are moving arsenic teachers. There is immoderate disorder connected however we are expected to be schoolhouse portion carrying retired emuneration enactment for SIR. We person to sojourn each location astatine slightest 3 times for filling up emuneration forms and verifying them,” said a BLO who was attending training.
Sources astatine the CEO’s bureau clarified that arsenic of now, SIR duties person to beryllium carried retired successful summation to their regular responsibilities.
“70% of BLOs are authorities unit and teachers. Normally, duties surrounding the SIR are successful summation to their mundane responsibilities successful their regular occupation appointments, unless determination is an bid from the Election Commission stating otherwise,” sources said.
The BLOs besides expressed apprehensions astir information during the door-to-door exercise. Several organisations similar the Votekarmi and BLO Aikya Mancha and the Sangrami Joutha Mancha had earlier flagged imaginable information issues to the CEO’s office.
Swapan Mandal, General Secretary of the Votekarmi and BLO Aikya Mancha connected Friday wrote to CEO Manoj Kumar Agarwal, requesting his involution successful guaranteeing information and information of BLOs engaged for SIR intent and alleging intimidation by governmental goons.
“We are frightened for our idiosyncratic information portion we transportation retired the door-to-door visits. There person been respective instances of governmental enactment workers issuing threats to BLOs aft SIR was announced. We anticipation the Election Commission volition instrumentality stringent information measures earlier we commencement the groundwork connected November 4,” Mr. Mandal said.
CEO Manoj Kumar Agarwal had earlier assured them that the State constabulary would guarantee instrumentality and bid is maintained during the exercise.
BLA forms received
The CEO’s office, arsenic of October 30, received a full of 18,340 assignment forms for the positions of Booth Level Agents (BLA-2s) who are appointed by governmental parties astatine the polling presumption level, sources said.
A full of 2,349 BLA-2 forms were received from Trinamool, 7,912 forms were received from the Bharatiya Janata Party, 6,175 forms were received from the Communist Party of India (Marxist), 1,255 forms were received from the Congress, and 649 forms were received from All India Forward Bloc, arsenic of October 30.
BLA-2 agents are expected to assistance BLOs successful carrying retired the emuneration signifier of the SIR successful West Bengal betwixt November 4 and December 4. The draught electoral rotation is scheduled to beryllium published connected December 9.
