7 BLOs suspended over negligence during revision of electoral rolls

Patna: At least seven Booth Level Officers (BLOs) were suspended in Bihar by the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Wednesday, for alleged dereliction of duty and refusal to follow the stipulated guidelines. The BLOs were suspended by the Patna District Election Officer cum District Magistrate, with immediate effect. The reasons cited for the BLOs' suspension include their absence from duty, ignorance of standard procedure and arbitrary decision-making, and no consultation with senior officials.

Three BLOs from Mokama and four from Fatua Assembly constituency have been suspended with immediate effect. The BLOs, who have been suspended, include Mamta Singh, Anupama, Aarti Kumari, and Minnie Kumari from the Fatuha Assembly constituency, while Jitendra Kumar Chaudhary, Ashwini Kumar and Ram Ratan Kumar are from the Mokama Assembly constituency. The District Magistrate has stated that any kind of laxity, negligence or irregularity in electoral revision work will not be tolerated. Notably, special camps are being set up at the block and district levels to address the complaints and grievances of people, arising out of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process in the state. The camps were made operational from August 2, a day after the publication of draft electoral rolls and are working in mission mode to address the claims and complaints of voters. Electors can visit these camps from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and flag their issues regarding inclusion or exclusion from the voters' list and seek necessary addressal of their grievances. Notably, the poll panel has published the draft electoral rolls of all 90,712 polling booths, pertaining to all 243 Assembly constituencies, and the same was shared with all political parties by all 38 DEOs of Bihar on August 1, the ECI said. "For claims and objections for the addition of the names of eligible electors, the ECI has shared a list of those electors whose names were there in the June 24 Electoral Roll but are not there in the August 1 draft Electoral Roll," the poll panel said in an earlier statement.