Image for illustration purposes only. | Photo credit: File
The ruling Trinamool Congress and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in West Bengal on Friday (October 31) leveled charges against each other over threats to Booth Level Officers (BLOs), even before the door-to-door voter list verification process began.
The Trinamool leader reportedly threatened to tie up the BLOs if they arrived with incomplete voter lists, prompting the BJP to file an official complaint with the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal. In response, the Trinamool countered by accusing Leader of Opposition Suvenda Adhikari of making similar threats against the BLO.
The development comes amid growing concern among BLOs in the state, with several refusing to participate in the Special Intensive Review (SIR) process, citing “threats” and “security concerns”. Nearly 1,000 BLOs have reportedly received notices from the CEO’s office for refusing to discharge their duties.
A video of Girindra Nath Barman, Trinamool Cooch Behar district president, has gone viral on social media and has been widely shared by BJP leaders, in which Mr. Barman is seen making threatening remarks to BLOs.
“Each BLO is a representative of the Electoral Commission; they must come with the complete list of voters from 2000, otherwise we will tie them to the trees. Why people’s names are missing from the list, they must answer, not us,” Mr. Barman can be heard in the video.
Reacting to the video, BJP leader Shishir Bajoria wrote to the CEO’s office, calling the statement a “blatant act of intimidation” by the Trinamool leader.
“This kind of threat is not an isolated incident. All these threats are pre-meditated with the sole objective of threatening the BLO either to fail to complete the task as demanded by the SIR or to surrender completely to the dictates of these unscrupulous Trinamool functionaries,” Mr Bajor’s letter said. He also alleged that the Trinamool was trying to prevent dubious voters from being removed from the electoral rolls.
The BJP demanded that an FIR be registered against Mr. Barman and urged the CEO to take steps to prevent similar incidents in future.
Leader of Opposition Mr Adhikari also shared a video on social media platform X and called Mr Barman a “local don”. “How can BLOs, often ordinary civil servants, carry out their door-to-door duties when Trinamool foot soldiers openly vow to bind and bind them?” he said on Friday.
However, by Friday evening, the Trinamool released a video alleging that Mr. Adhikari himself had threatened the BLOs.
“In a shocking display of arrogance, @BJP4Bengal LoP threatened Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and warned that if they don’t follow the ‘instructions’ he will have them arrested. He even boasted that 52 BLOs in Bihar are languishing in jail and that Bengal BLOs would meet the same fate to take care of an official of Xol’s line and on’t. he said.
The party further alleged that the remarks amounted to “criminal intimidation of government officials” and an attempt to “sabotage the election process”, urging the Election Commission of India to take immediate notice and register an FIR against Mr Adhikari.
Published – 31 Oct 2025 20:03 IST
