In less than 24 hours of a stern warning from the Election Commission of India, all 143 Booth Level Officers (BLOs) have joined duty across West Bengal on Thursday, a senior official said.
The district administrations informed the office of the state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) that all the officers concerned in constituencies such as Cooch Behar, Murshidabad, and Kolkata Uttar joined duty within the stipulated time.
"All the 143 BLOs have joined duty today. We have got confirmation from the officials in the respective districts. No report has been received from any district magistrate about non-compliance," he said.
West Bengal has a total of 80,681 polling booths, each assigned one BLO for electoral roll management and verification.
The ECI recently announced the special intensive revision (SIR) to update and correct the electoral rolls, which will continue till early next year.
On Wednesday, the ECI issued a stern directive to the 143 BLOs, warning them that who fail to report for duty by Thursday will face stringent administrative action, including possible suspension as well as departmental proceedings.
According to officials in the state CEO, the recruitment and training process for the BLOs had been continuing for nearly seven months.
However, several appointed BLOs were reluctant to take charge, disrupting preparatory work related to the upcoming electoral roll revision.
Despite repeated instructions, a section of officials neither joined their assigned posts nor attended training sessions. Following this, the Commission indicated that strict disciplinary measures would be initiated against those failing to comply.
CEO Manoj Kumar Agarwal had written to the state education department, directing that all school teachers assigned as BLOs must immediately take up their responsibilities.
"Following the directive, the situation changed considerably from Thursday morning, with most pending officers reporting for duty," he said.
Meanwhile, in response to comments made by Trinamool Congress leaders, including party MP Abhishek Banerjee, on Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and his family members following the death of a resident in Panihati in West Bengal, the CEO said a detailed report has been sent to the ECI.
Banerjee has accused Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Gyanesh Kumar of being responsible for the "climate of panic" and demanded criminal action following the alleged death by suicide by a 57-year-old man near Kolkata, who left behind a note blaming anxiety over the NRC.
"All complaints are being examined seriously and resolved expeditiously," Agarwal said.
Elsewhere, district administrations in Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling have set up special assistance camps in flood-affected areas of North Bengal from Thursday morning, he said.
Officials said the camps are to help residents obtain certified duplicate documents lost in the floods, he said, adding that the DMs have informed both the Election Commission and the Chief Electoral Officer that the reissuance process has begun.
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