As the enumeration process of the special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls is set to begin on Tuesday, the BJP leadership across Bengal has been busy “detecting and reporting” booth-level officers (BLOs) believed to have links with the ruling Trinamool Congress.
“The role of BLOs is crucial during the SIR process. So, our party leaders have been directed to identify dubious officials, especially those with direct or indirect links to Trinamool, and report them to the poll panel. Although our (screening) process has begun, many dubious BLOs are still on the list,” said a senior BJP leader.
There are around 81,000 BLOs appointed by the Election Commission across the state, which makes it a tough task for the BJP to identify those with political links.
“That is why party leaders have been asked to closely monitor the activities of the BLOs once the enumeration process begins and inform state and district election officials, along with possible replacements for BLOs with Trinamool links,” he added.
BJP leaders said the process of detecting and reporting BLOs will continue throughout the SIR exercise.
Suvendu Adhikari
BJP state chief Samik Bhattacharya has announced that the party’s policy on the SIR is to “detect and deport” infiltrators and ensure that the names of dead or shifted voters are struck off. A BJP leader said deletion of illegitimate voters was possible only if BLOs perform impartially.
A BJP leader from Hooghly pointed out that in many places, names of “doubtful” BLOs earlier submitted to the EC were not replaced.
“We submitted names of 146 such BLOs from our organisational districts, and out of them, only 40–50 have been replaced. The rest have stayed, and we are receiving reports about many other BLOs with Trinamool connections,” said Biman Ghosh, the BJP chief of Hooghly’s Arambagh organisational district. “We have also provided replacement names along with our complaints.”
“We have lodged complaints against nearly 100 such BLOs. In many cases, we have information but no documented proof as of now to establish their political connections. We are working on it and will continue lodging complaints once our ground-level workers inform us about the BLOs’ activities during the enumeration process,” said Chandi Charan Roy, the BJP president of the party’s north Kolkata suburban organisational district.
The BJP lodged a complaint with the Election Commission listing 12 BLOs allegedly having Trinamool links from Nandigram, the Assembly constituency of Suvendu Adhikari, the leader of the Opposition.
Adhikari has warned BLOs who might be affiliated to Trinamool. “In Bihar, 52 BLOs have not been granted bail and are still in jail. So, those who try to manipulate the SIR work will have to spend time behind bars. We will gather all documents against you,” Adhikari said last week.
However, political scientist Biswanath Chakraborty believes the strategy of threatening BLOs would not help the BJP.
“BLOs are not decision-makers when it comes to inclusion or deletion of names. That onus lies with higher officials such as returning officers. Most BLOs are state government employees and are already unhappy with the (Mamata Banerjee) government over the DA issue. So, threatening BLOs, particularly in Suvendu Adhikari’s style, will not help the BJP and may even turn them against the party,” said Chakraborty.
A senior bureaucrat said most BLOs had political affiliations. “It was a challenge to get permanent government employees for each of the 81,000 booths. Now, if a series of applications demanding fresh BLOs pour in, it will create more trouble, as finding replacements will not be easy,” said the official.
Trinamool leaders claimed that the BJP’s “witch-hunt” to identify BLOs with ruling party links was a result of frustration after failing to find enough booth-level agents (BLAs). “Not only Trinamool, many BLOs support Opposition parties, including the BJP. The BJP realised they can’t manipulate the voter list because of our strong organisational network, and that’s why they are afraid,” said Trinamool spokesperson Arup Chakraborty. “We don’t complain against a BLO with a BJP link as we know our BLAs will monitor their every step.”