The Election Commission has decided to initiate stern action against booth-level officers (BLOs) who have yet to join duties, despite being appointed about a month ago.
During a video conference on Wednesday with district magistrates, who are the district election officers, the Election Commission made it clear that the errant BLOs should accept appointment letters and start working as BLOs by Thursday.
“Those who would not accept their appointment letters and start working as BLOs by tomorrow, they would be put under suspension. The EC made it clear during a video conference on Wednesday,” said a district magistrate.
Sources in the poll panel said that during the video conference on Wednesday, the district magistrates informed the poll panel that out of the 81,000 booths, about 700 BLOs across the state were yet to accept appointment letters.
If the stalemate continues, it could cause serious trouble, as the groundwork for the special intensive revision of electoral rolls would start from November 4.
“The BLOs will play the most crucial roles during the initial phase of the SIR. They would visit door to door to distribute enumeration forms to the existing voters, and they would collect the filled-in forms between November 4 and December 4. If a BLO refuses to work, it would be trouble for the poll panel as the process would take a hit in that particular booth,” said a source in the poll panel.
Sources also said that the poll panel has identified the problem that some BLOs, mostly schoolteachers, were refusing to accept appointment letters as BLOs even after Calcutta High Court asked them to work in the position.
“Bengal CEO Manoj Agarwal had written a letter to the school education secretary, pointing out that some of the teachers who were appointed as BLOs were refusing to accept appointment letters.
“They did not even respond to the showcause letters served on them. The CEO had asked the school education secretary to warn the errant teachers that stern measures could be initiated if they didn’t accept their appointment letters and join duties,” said a source.
After this, many teachers who initially refused to provide the BLO duty accepted their appointment letters.
“But now, it appears that about 700 BLOs are yet to accept appointment letters and join duties. This is the reason why the poll panel asked the DEOs to put them under suspension in case they don’t join their duties by Thursday,” a source said.
The poll panel had asked the state governments to appoint direct government employees in the Group C category and above as BLOs instead of contractual employees to ensure no BLO ignores her/his responsibility as they would be the ears and eyes of the poll panel during the exercise.
“This is the first time schoolteachers are being appointed as BLOs. Initially, there could be some teething problems, but it is expected that all those who were appointed as BLOs would join their duties within the deadline set by the poll panel,” said a poll panel official.