Training for BLOs on SIR begins throughout Bengal; demand grows for heightened safety

A bit of booth-level officers (BLOs), tasked with finishing up door-to-door verification for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of West Bengal’s electoral rolls, throughout a coaching session at Kolkata’s Nazrul Mancha auditorium demanded readability on attendance points for his or her common authorities duties and on safety measures being taken for his or her security in the course of the SIR train.

Training programmes for BLOs started throughout the State on Saturday (November 1, 2025) and can conclude inside November 3, a day earlier than BLOs are anticipated to enterprise out for door-to-door visits for elector verification for SIR. Roughly 80,000 BLOs throughout West Bengal are anticipated to get skilled on the best way to perform door-to-door visits, fill emuneration varieties, function the cellular utility for BLOs, utilise the BLO package and coordinate with political party-appointed sales space stage brokers (BLAs) for SIR.

“BLOs will go to every home underneath a polling sales space, assist electors fill emuneration varieties and put up the info on the BLO app. Photographs of the electors can even be connected with the emuneration type. The collected knowledge will then be verified by the election registration officers. Electors can even be capable of attain out to BLOs by way of the ECINET app. There can be not less than one BLO per polling sales space,” sources on the workplace of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) stated.

BLOs appointed throughout a number of Assembly constituencies in south Kolkata attended a coaching programme in Nazrul Mancha on Saturday, the place a piece of them staged an agitation demanding readability on whether or not they can be stored ‘on-duty’ of their common jobs whereas they perform residence visits for SIR.

“The BLOs appointed for SIR are employed with the federal government already. Most of them are working as academics. There is a few confusion on how we’re anticipated to attend faculty whereas finishing up emuneration work for SIR. We have to go to every home not less than thrice for filling up emuneration varieties and verifying them,” stated a BLO who was attending coaching.

Sources on the CEO’s workplace clarified that as of now, SIR duties must be carried out along with their common duties.

“70% of BLOs are authorities employees and academics. Normally, duties surrounding the SIR are along with their on a regular basis duties of their common job appointments, until there’s an order from the Election Commission stating in any other case,” sources stated.

The BLOs additionally expressed apprehensions round safety in the course of the door-to-door train. Several organisations just like the Votekarmi and BLO Aikya Mancha and the Sangrami Joutha Mancha had earlier flagged potential safety points to the CEO’s workplace.

Swapan Mandal, General Secretary of the Votekarmi and BLO Aikya Mancha on Friday wrote to CEO Manoj Kumar Agarwal, requesting his intervention in guaranteeing security and safety of BLOs engaged for SIR objective and alleging intimidation by political goons.

“We are scared for our private security whereas we stock out the door-to-door visits. There have been a number of situations of political social gathering employees issuing threats to BLOs after SIR was introduced. We hope the Election Commission will take stringent safety measures earlier than we begin the groundwork on November 4,” Mr. Mandal stated.

CEO Manoj Kumar Agarwal had earlier assured them that the State police would guarantee legislation and order is maintained in the course of the train.

BLA varieties obtained

The CEO’s workplace, as of October 30, obtained a complete of 18,340 appointment varieties for the positions of Booth Level Agents (BLA-2s) who’re appointed by political events on the polling station stage, sources stated.

A complete of two,349 BLA-2 varieties have been obtained from Trinamool, 7,912 varieties have been obtained from the Bharatiya Janata Party, 6,175 varieties have been obtained from the Communist Party of India (Marxist), 1,255 varieties have been obtained from the Congress, and 649 varieties have been obtained from All India Forward Bloc, as of October 30.

BLA-2 brokers are anticipated to help BLOs in finishing up the emuneration part of the SIR in West Bengal between November 4 and December 4. The draft electoral roll is scheduled to be revealed on December 9.