With the last date for the first phase of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls extended from December 4 to 11, West Bengal’s Chief Electoral Officer, Manoj Agarwal, has directed booth-level officers (BLOs) to review enumeration forms and ensure that names of all deceased, absent or duplicate voters are deleted before the first phase ends.
In a message to BLOs, Agarwal said they must exercise “utmost care” while uploading data, warning them of legal action if any “intentional mistake” is detected.
“You must ensure every single dead/absent/duplicate voter’s name is deleted from the voter list as the Election Commission aims to keep every eligible voter’s name and delete every ineligible one. There should not be any mistake, inadvertently or otherwise,” Agarwal said on Thursday.
A senior official in the CEO’s office said there’s a drop in the number of dead or shifted voters being reported, with seven polling booths reporting no dead or shifted voters after 2,208 declared initially, and 480 two days ago.
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The revised figure came after the CEO’s office asked districts to “thoroughly re-check” numbers before submitting them, the official said.
In his note, the CEO also reminded BLOs that they are on deputation to the EC for the SIR exercise and are responsible for crucial verification work.
In the midst of growing number of cases of suicides by overworked BLOs, Agarwal thanked “those who have done a commendable job”, saying “no word is enough to praise them”.
His message, however, made no mention of BLO Oikyo Manch’s claim that four BLOs had died due to stress and deadline pressure during the SIR process over the past month, nor about compensation for their families.
A deputy CEO earlier said district election officers have been asked to submit reports on the alleged incidents and the actual cause of the deaths.
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