BLOs withdraw stir as CEO assures ‘no action’ over ‘digitisation delays’

Kolkata: A group of booth-level officers (BLOs) who spent the entire night inside the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer’s office, refusing to leave until their demands are heard, finally called off their sit-in demonstration after CEO Manoj Kumar Agarwal met them on Tuesday evening.

A spokesperson of the BLO Adhikar Raksha Committee said they personally submitted their deputation to the CEO, who assured them that no action would be taken against any BLO for unintentional delays in digitising enumeration forms. “He has informed us that the power to extend the deadline for digitisation rests with the Election Commission of India and he does not have that authority,” the spokesperson said.

Responding to allegations that some BLOs had died due to excessive work pressure, the CEO reportedly said that if police reports and post-mortem findings confirmed such claims, he would forward the matter to the ECI seeking compensation.

The BLOs’ demands centre on “excessive work pressure” and “inhuman workloads” during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR).

The agitation began on Monday afternoon after a rally from College Square to BBD Bag, where the CEO’s office is located. Police allowed a 13-member delegation to enter the building to submit a deputation, but the CEO, occupied with official engagements, could not meet them that day. Additional CEOs were present to receive the deputation, but the BLOs insisted that it be handed over to Agarwal personally.

By nightfall, seven members—convenor Moidul Islam (a school teacher but not a BLO), Amit Mondal, Sonali Chakraborty, Tanushree Bhattacharya and Soifullah Haldar—remained inside the premises.

While they ended their sit-in inside the office on Tuesday evening, the Adhikar Manch said it would continue its deputation outside the CEO’s office until November 4, the deadline for completing distribution and digitisation of forms.

The CEO’s office said that as of 3 pm on Tuesday, 70.14 per cent of enumeration forms had been distributed across the state.