Representative image | Photo credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto
All Booth Level Officers (BLOs) appointed for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the West Bengal Electoral Roll joined by noon on Thursday (October 30, 2025) after issuing a suspension warning to the absent BLOs the previous day, sources in the Chief Electoral Officer’s office said.
While recruitment, appointment and training of BLOs began earlier this year, 143 absentee BLOs were warned of suspension by election officials on Wednesday afternoon.
Earlier this month, more than 1,000 BLOs in West Bengal were issued notices of failure to take responsibility.
A section of the BLO also wrote to Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal expressing concern about participating in the SIR process, citing threats to their personal security. Dispelling their fears, the Chief Electoral Officer told the media that he was confident that the SIR would be closed smoothly and successfully.
“At Least One Per Stand”
About 80,681 BLOs along with 8,000 BLO Supervisors, over 3,000 Assistant Electoral Registration Officers and 294 Electoral Registration Officers have been appointed to conduct the SIR exercise in West Bengal, Mr. Agarwal said.
With the joining of the entire BLO workforce from Thursday (October 30, 2025) afternoon, election officials have achieved their target of appointing at least one BLO in every polling station, sources in the Chief Electoral Officer’s office said. Each polling station covers roughly 950 to 1,000 voters as of October 28.
Special camps
Special camps are being held to help voters in the recently flood-hit districts, namely Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar, sources in the Chief Electoral Officer’s office said. District administrations from these regions have so far reported no hurdles in the availability of documents among people for the SIR process, they said.
Certain named BLOs were directly or indirectly associated with the ruling dispensation of West Bengal, Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Suvendu Adhikari on Wednesday.
“We keep getting complaints about the appointment of BLOs. Every complaint is heard, verified and resolved if it is a case of proven political affiliation,” said sources in the Chief Electoral Officer’s office.
Published – 30 Oct 2025 21:13 IST
