ECI urges strict oversight of BLOs during Bengal voter roll revision
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Kolkata: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has directed key electoral officials in West Bengal to intensify monitoring of Booth Level Officers (BLOs) as part of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The instruction was issued on Thursday during a meeting in Alipurduar district, where a three-member central ECI delegation reviewed the progress of the SIR exercise. The delegation, comprising Deputy Election Commissioner Gyanesh Bharti, Deputy Secretary Abhinav Agarwal, and Principal Secretary S.B. Joshi, was accompanied by West Bengal’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Manoj Kumar Agarwal.
Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) were told to ensure BLOs adhere strictly to ECI guidelines, wear visible identity cards during house-to-house visits, and complete their assigned tasks within the stipulated timeframe.
A statement from the CEO’s office emphasised that BLOs must be closely supervised to maintain the integrity of the revision process. It also stressed the importance of preventing the exclusion of genuine voters and ensuring that ineligible entries, including those who are dead, shifted, absent, or duplicated, are removed from the rolls.
The central delegation is on a three-day visit to West Bengal to assess the SIR progress in the north Bengal districts of Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri, and Cooch Behar.
On Friday, the ECI team and the CEO will conduct a similar review meeting with electoral officials from Cooch Behar district.
(Inputs from IANS)