TMC accuses Election Commission of 'quietly' amending rules for appointing booth agents

New Delhi: The Trinamool Congress on Tuesday accused the Election Commission of India of "quietly" amending rules for appointment of Booth-Level Agents (BLAs), amid the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in West Bengal.

The ECI "has quietly and cunningly amended the rules governing the appointment of Booth Level Agents (BLAs)," the party said in a post on X.

Earlier, the TMC said that as per the EC's 2023 guidelines, the BLA must be a registered elector in the relevant part of the electoral roll for which he/she is appointed.

"But the new, amended instruction reads: 'In case of unavailability of Booth Level Agent (BLA) from the same Part of the electoral roll, Booth Level Agent may be appointed from any registered elector of the same Assembly Constituency,'" it said.

The TMC said this raises "serious questions".

"BLOs, as per existing norms, must belong to the same booth or at least the same polling station. Why then was an exception made only for BLAs?" it asked.

The party alleged that the change was made because "BJP is failing to find agents from within local booths and wants to import outsiders to rig the process from within."

The TMC accused the ECI of being a "servile extension" of the ruling party, the BJP.

"No wonder the Secretary of Amit Shah's Cooperation Ministry was rewarded with the post of Chief Election Commissioner. So that rules can be rewritten to serve BJP's political convenience," it alleged, referring to CEC Gyanesh Kumar.

The TMC also posted a copy of a direction by the ECI citing the "Modification in Booth Level Agent (BLA) appointment criteria."

A booth-level agent is a representative appointed by a recognised political party for a specific polling booth area to assist with the electoral roll revision process.