Jalpaiguri: The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has taken a clear lead in appointing Booth Level Agents (BLAs) across Jalpaiguri district, outpacing all other political parties.
While Trinamool has finalised BLAs in all 1,925 booths, the BJP is yet to complete its list—particularly in minority-dominated areas, reportedly due to internal concerns over the SIR issue.
BLAs play a crucial role in voter list revision, verification, and booth-level coordination. In previous Assembly, Lok Sabha, municipal, and Panchayat polls, both the BJP and Left parties had failed to appoint agents in every booth.
This time, however, Trinamool appears better prepared on the ground.
Jalpaiguri district comprises seven Assembly constituencies—Dabgram–Phulbari, Nagrakata, Maynaguri, Dhupguri, Jalpaiguri Sadar, Rajganj, and Mal.
In the last Assembly election, the BJP won four of these, while Trinamool secured the remaining three. Following the demise of BJP MLA Bishnupada Roy, Trinamool also captured the Dhupguri seat in the subsequent by-election.
The district, with over 18 lakh voters, has 1,925 polling booths. Political parties have begun submitting their BLA lists to the District
Election Office.
BJP sources said the party has completed around 90 per cent of the process but has yet to appoint agents in certain minority-dominated booths.
Former BJP district president and state committee member Bapi Goswami admitted: “The party has not yet started the process of appointing BLAs in minority-dominated booths.” District BJP president Shyamal Roy added: “In past elections, Trinamool used intimidation to stop us from filing nominations and threatened our polling agents. This time we will not concede an inch. Except for a few booths, BLAs have been identified and the lists are being submitted
in phases.”
Meanwhile, the Jalpaiguri District Trinamool Congress has appointed Chandan Bhowmik as district coordinator to oversee its BLAs across all
polling stations.
“We have appointed BLAs in all seven constituencies and prepared the full list,”
Bhowmik said.
District Magistrate and Election Officer Shama Parveen confirmed that parties will be asked to submit their lists once training for Booth Level Officers (BLOs) begins.