West Bengal BLOs write to CEO, seek security ahead of drive to re-enrol voters
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People whose names were removed from the roll outside a tribunal in Nadia seeking re-inclusion of their names. | Photo Credit: file photo
An association of Booth Level Officers (BLOs) in West Bengal on Monday wrote to the State’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Neelam Meena seeking security arrangements during the survey to enrol new voters and re-enrol eligible voters whose names were deleted during the special intensive revision (SIR) drive ahead of the Assembly election in April.
On October 2, the Election Commission (EC) directed BLOs to visit houses across the country to enrol new voters and re-enrol eligible voters.
The association, Votekarmi O BLO Aikya Mancha, said its members would have to work in “sensitive” areas during the survey where many voters’ names were deleted during the SIR, especially in eight districts — North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Howrah, Malda, Murshidabad, Uttar Dinajpur, and parts of Hooghly and Kolkata.
“In these districts, a huge number of voters were deleted for no reason. Though the BLOs had no role in this mass deletion, they may be the target of attacks by furious deleted voters. A system [logical discrepancy] raised the question of the credentials of these deleted voters,” read the letter they sent to Ms. Meena.
It added, “The BLOs may be victims of the wrath of those deleted voters at the time of special drive. We are apprehensive of this situation.”
They requested that appropriate measures be undertaken to ensure the security of the BLOs working in the sensitive areas.
The names of over 91 lakh voters were deleted from the electoral rolls in West Bengal during the SIR drive. Of these, around 27 lakh later appealed before tribunals seeking restoration of their names.
Meanwhile, the EC on Monday replaced the Inspector-in-charge of the Nandigram police station, a day before the bypoll to the Nandigram Assembly seat, a senior officer said. Debashis Sarkar was appointed to the post, replacing Ajay Kumar Mishra.
The development comes after Opposition parties approached the EC, alleging that Mr. Mishra was close to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
The State police force underwent a major reshuffle ahead of the poll. Several officers were transferred across districts as part of efforts to ensure a “transparent election process”.
Nandigram played a big role in Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee’s rise during the 2007-08 anti-land-grab agitation.
In 2021, she was defeated in Nandigram by Suvendu Adhikari.
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