A section of booth-level officers (BLOs) gathered outside the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) in Kolkata on Friday, asking a pressing question: why did the Election Commission (EC) refuse to extend the deadline for the first phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal while granting extensions to other states?
The protest took shape a day after new EC guidelines reached BLOs on Thursday night, despite the December 11 deadline for filling up enumeration forms having already ended.
Members of the BLO Adhikar Raksha Committee held a sit-in outside the CEO’s office and said the late instructions had added fresh pressure on ground staff.
The committee claimed the SIR workload had pushed BLOs “under tremendous mental and physical pressure” since the exercise began.
According to protesters, several officers “broken down during training programmes” as demands increased. They also pointed to reports of multiple deaths of BLOs in different districts since the process began.
A key grievance centred on the absence of compensation for officers who fell ill or died during SIR duty.
“The state government provides compensation for election-duty casualties. Why is the EC denying even basic support to BLOs who fall ill while performing mandatory duties?” one of the protesters asked.
BLOs argued that the refusal to extend the SIR deadline in West Bengal had left them “demoralised and overburdened”, especially since other states received more time.
They said repeated representations to the CEO’s office had not resulted in any resolution of their demands relating to workload, deadlines and medical safeguards.
Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose on Friday urged the state government to ensure that BLOs are protected and that the SIR process goes ahead without disruptions.
His remarks, posted on X by Lok Bhavan, followed recent Supreme Court directions calling for safety measures for BLOs involved in the revision of electoral rolls.
The governor recommended that district administrations be directed to provide security to BLOs across villages, towns and cities.
He also asked the government to depute an adequate number of police personnel to accompany BLOs during enumeration and to offer basic facilities that would allow them to carry out their duties without hindrance.