The Election Commission (EC) has appointed retired IAS officer Subrata Gupta as the Special Roll Observer for West Bengal’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, even as it expressed concern over the safety of Booth Level Officers (BLOs) engaged in the exercise.
Gupta, a 1990-batch IAS officer of the West Bengal cadre, will oversee the SIR process to ensure compliance with EC directions and verify that “no eligible person is left out of the electoral rolls and no ineligible elector is included in it,” an official said on Friday.
To support the exercise, the EC has also deputed 12 IAS officers as Electoral Roll Observers across the state.
Smita Pandey will cover Paschim Bardhaman, Purba Bardhaman and Birbhum; Tanmay Chakraborty for Murshidabad and Malda; Randhir Kumar for North 24 Parganas and Kolkata Uttar; C Murugan for South 24 Parganas and Kolkata Dakshin; and R Arjun for Coochbehar, Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri.
Rajeev Kumar has been assigned Howrah; Neelam Meena will oversee Purba Medinipur, Paschim Medinipur and Jhargram; Ashwini Kumar Yadav will monitor Uttar and Dakshin Dinajpur; Niranjan Kumar will cover Darjeeling and Kalimpong; Devi Prasad Karanam will look after Purulia and Bankura; Rachna Bhagat will be posted in Nadia; and Vishwanath in Hooghly, the official added.
EC writes to West Bengal DGP amid safety concerns
The Election Commission has written to West Bengal DGP Rajeev Kumar, directing him to ensure the security of BLOs after receiving inputs that there is “an apparent threat” to their safety.
This marks the EC’s second letter in three days over concerns about the protection of poll officials.
Earlier, it had written to Kolkata Police Commissioner Manoj Kumar Verma regarding a “serious security breach” at the Chief Electoral Officer’s (CEO’s) office following an agitation by a section of BLOs protesting “excessive work pressure”.
The latest letter, sent by EC secretary Sujeet Kumar Mishra, stated: “It has come to the notice of the Election Commission of India from various quarters that there is an apparent threat to the safety and security of the lives of Booth Level Officers and other field functionaries. This may prevent them from discharging their statutory duties towards the conduct of SIR.”
It added: “The Commission is concerned about the safety and security of Booth Level Officers and other field functionaries engaged in SIR work and therefore directs that all possible measures will be taken by police authorities to ensure the safety and security of these officers and staff.”
The EC emphasised that the state must prevent any “perceptible atmosphere of fear, threat and undue influence” and ensure that no untoward incident occurs.
More than 80,000 BLOs are currently handling distribution, collection and digitisation of enumeration forms for the SIR.
Political tensions rise
The EC’s intervention comes after state BJP president Samik Bhattacharya urged Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to visit Bengal and assess what he described as an “atmosphere of fear, coercion and intimidation” allegedly created by the ruling Trinamool Congress.
Accusing the TMC of fostering a “threat culture” to manipulate the SIR process, Bhattacharya alleged that BLOs were being pressured to work under duress, including being asked to upload false data. He said the EC “cannot monitor West Bengal's volatile ground reality from Delhi with a few routine statements and phone calls”.
EC accelerates shifting of CEO office
A senior official at the CEO’s office said that after the recent “security breach” at the central Kolkata office, the EC has instructed that the ongoing process of shifting the office to a more secure location be expedited.
“The EC has also directed the Kolkata Police commissioner to ensure complete security of the existing as well as the new office of the CEO, West Bengal,” the official said.
