The Election Commission of India (ECI) has initiated a stringent crackdown on booth-level officers (BLOs) in West Bengal for alleged gross irregularities and violations of prescribed norms concerning the enumeration forms during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Sources from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, and the Election Commission revealed that First Information Reports (FIRs) have been lodged against eight Booth Level Agents (BLAs) for allegedly interfering in the distribution of enumeration forms, unlawfully taking possession of the forms from BLOs, and distributing them on their own.
Simultaneously, the commission has issued show-cause notices to eight BLOs who reportedly resorted to a shortcut method of distributing the enumeration forms from a fixed location, thereby flouting the ECI-mandated norm of conducting door-to-door visits for the purpose, the sources in the CEO’s office stated.
On Friday, the commission issued a stern ultimatum to the BLOs indulging in such shortcut practices regarding the distribution of enumeration forms.
However, despite the commission’s ultimatum, these eight BLOs continued to follow the same prohibited shortcut method, prompting the poll panel to serve them with show-cause notices. According to commission sources, these eight BLOs belong to Cooch Behar, North 24 Parganas, and South 24 Parganas districts.
Sources in the CEO’s office further disclosed that the commission has once again instructed Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) to closely monitor the activities of BLOs throughout the revision process to ensure strict adherence to ECI guidelines.
The commission has reiterated its caution to BLOs against handing over the responsibility of enumeration forms to any third party—whether a relative, friend, or acquaintance—and warned that such actions would be treated as a serious breach of conduct.
The ECI commenced the Special Intensive Revision in West Bengal on Tuesday, and more than four crore enumeration forms had been distributed by 8 p.m. on Saturday. “Going by the progress, we expect to complete the process of enumeration form distribution well before the end of this month,” sources in the CEO’s office said.
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As per the electoral roll on October 27, the total number of electors in West Bengal stands at 7,66,37,529.
Voters whose names or their parents’ names were included in the electoral rolls in 2002—the last occasion when the SIR was conducted in West Bengal—are required to fill in the details in the enumeration forms and submit them.
Such voters are not required to submit any additional supporting documents to retain their names in the electoral roll. Earlier, the SIR in West Bengal was conducted in 2002. Voters whose names or their parents’ names did not appear in the 2002 list must submit any one of the 11 documents specified by the Commission to retain their names in the voter list.
Also Read: 8 WB BLOs served show-cause notices over SIR irregularities
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