The Election Commission of India (ECI) has launched a strict action against booth-level officers (BLOs) in West Bengal. The move follows serious irregularities during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Officials said FIRs have been filed against eight booth-level agents (BLAs) for interfering in form distribution and taking control from BLOs.
At the same time, the commission issued show-cause notices to eight BLOs for violating norms. They allegedly used shortcut methods for distributing enumeration forms from one place instead of visiting homes. Despite an earlier warning, these officers from Cooch Behar, North 24 Parganas, and South 24 Parganas repeated the violation, prompting further action.
The ECI directed all Electoral Registration Officers and Assistant EROs to monitor BLOs closely. It warned that handing over forms to third parties, including relatives or friends, would be treated as a serious breach of conduct. The commission stressed that the process must strictly follow ECI guidelines.
Over four crore enumeration forms were distributed by Saturday evening. The total number of voters in West Bengal stands at 7.66 crore. The commission aims to complete distribution by the end of this month, continuing its drive for accurate electoral rolls.
