CEO tells Bengal BLOs to re-verify forms, delete dead/absent voters by Dec 11

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Agarwal on Thursday directed booth-level officers (BLOs) engaged in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls to re-check enumeration forms and ensure that names of all dead, absent or duplicate voters are deleted before the first phase ends on December 11.

The last date for the first phase of SIR has been extended from December 4 to 11.

In a message to BLOs, Agarwal said they must exercise "utmost care" while uploading data.

"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.

He warned that if any "intentional mistake" is detected, the Commission will take legal action.

A senior official in the CEO’s office said only seven polling booths have reported that they had no dead or shifted voters in the past year, a drop from 2,208 reported initially and 480 two days ago.

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 reminded BLOs that they are on deputation to the EC for the SIR exercise and are responsible for crucial verification work.

He also thanked "those BLOs who have done a commendable job", saying "no word is enough to praise them." The CEO’s message, however, made no mention of the 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.