Kolkata: A section of booth-level officers (BLOs) in West Bengal on Monday held a protest outside the office of the state’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), alleging that the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls has placed them under extreme pressure and that the Election Commission (EC) has failed to respond to their concerns.
The protest was organised by the BLO Adhikar Raksha Committee, whose members said BLOs across districts have been facing intense mental and physical stress since the revision exercise began. They claimed that heavy workloads, tight timelines, repeated training sessions and extensive field verification have severely affected officials’ health.
According to the protesters, several BLOs have collapsed during training programmes due to stress, while reports of deaths of officers engaged in revision-related duties have emerged from multiple districts. These incidents, they said, have raised alarm within both administrative and political circles.
The protesters questioned why the EC has not announced any compensation or support mechanism for BLOs who fall seriously ill or die while performing mandatory duties assigned under the revision process.
They pointed out that compensation is routinely provided by the state government in cases of casualties during election duty. “If the work is compulsory and ordered by the Commission, why is there no responsibility towards officers who suffer while carrying it out?” one protester asked.
The demonstration took place in front of the CEO’s office, where the committee demanded immediate intervention, rationalisation of workload and the introduction of a clear compensation policy for BLOs involved in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).