Tension escalated outside the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer’s office late Monday night as BJP activists confronted protesting booth-level officers, prompting police to intervene and separate the two groups, a senior officer said on Tuesday.
Members of the BLO Adhikar Raksha Committee had been staging a sit-in since Monday afternoon, alleging “excessive work pressure” and “unmanageable workload” during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The standoff escalated around 11 pm when nearly 50 BJP activists, led by KMC Councillor Sajal Ghosh, arrived at the site, shouting slogans accusing the Trinamool Congress of attempting to obstruct the SIR process by intimidating Election Commission officials who were inside the CEO’s office.
Tempers rose as the protesting BLOs countered with their own slogans, alleging that the BJP was working in "collusion with the Election Commission to delete names of genuine voters in West Bengal".
They further accused BJP activists of "trying to terrorise and provoke the peacefully demonstrating BLOs who only wanted an audience with the CEO".
Ghosh, however, dismissed the BLOs’ claims, saying, "The protesters are not BLOs. They are leaders of TMC-backed organisations."
The BLO forum members denied the charge as both sides continued trading allegations in front of mediapersons. A large police contingent led by DC Central Indira Mukherjee positioned itself between the two groups to maintain order.
Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal, who had remained inside the office due to the blockade by protesting BLOs, exited the building around 11.40 pm. Though he refrained from commenting on the situation, tensions eased as he and other Election Commission officials were escorted home by police.
Following the officials’ departure, Ghosh and the BJP activists announced they were ending their demonstration. "As asked by our top leadership, we are now leaving the area. Our immediate objective was to see that the CEO and other officials are not harassed by the Trinamool Congress. Since they have managed to leave, we don't wish to stay back here any more. The TMC got a befitting reply to its sinister campaign to harass the CEO," Ghosh said.
Earlier in the afternoon, BLO protesters had clashed verbally with police while attempting to enter the CEO’s office during their march from College Square to central Kolkata.
The tensions come amid reports that at least three BLOs in West Bengal have died by suicide, allegedly due to intense work pressure during the distribution and collection of door-to-door enumeration forms.