A 44-year-old Booth Level Officer (BLO) deployed for election duties in Kerala died by suicide on Sunday, with his family pointing to extreme pressure related to the ongoing revision of voter lists as the reason behind the tragic incident.
The Tragic Incident and Official Response
Aneesh George, who worked as an office assistant at an aided upper primary school in Kannur district, was found dead at his residence. He was assigned to the 18th booth under the Payyannur Assembly constituency for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls being conducted by the Election Commission of India.
Kerala Chief Electoral Officer Dr Rathan U Kelkar stated that they are awaiting a detailed report from the Kannur District Collector before making any official comments on the matter. “We will react after getting the report from the Collector,” Dr Kelkar said.
Family and Friends Allege Immense Pressure
According to the deceased's family and friends, George had been under significant strain to complete the SIR process within the tight deadline. A family friend and neighbour, Thamban, revealed that George was not familiar with the booth area assigned to him, which led to difficulties in distributing enumeration forms to voters.
Another friend, Shiju, provided more disturbing details, alleging that booth level agents (BLAs) of political parties did not accompany the BLO during his duties. “He had sought the help of BLAs of Congress and CPI(M). When the CPI(M) BLA failed to turn up, he was instructed not to go with the Congress BLA. He was tense as he could not complete the distribution of the enumeration forms on time,” Shiju told the media.
Contrasting Accounts and Political Reactions
However, T Manoharan, the Assistant Electoral Registration Officer of Payyanur constituency, offered a contrasting perspective. He stated that George had to distribute forms to 1,065 voters and had already distributed 878 forms as of Saturday, leaving only a small portion of the task incomplete. “I cannot comment on whether he was under pressure or not. His suicide has been reported to the higher-ups,” Manoharan said.
The incident has triggered strong reactions from major political parties. CPI(M) Kannur district secretary M V Jayarajan called the incident unfortunate and stated that BLOs are facing tremendous pressure. He reiterated their earlier request to the Election Commission to postpone the SIR until the local body elections were over.
Congress’s Kannur district president Martin George demanded a detailed probe into the incident and also highlighted the immense pressure on BLOs. He alleged that the deceased BLO had faced a threat from CPI(M) and emphasized that local-level political leaders are currently engaged in campaigning for the upcoming local body polls, making it difficult for them to assist BLOs.
The ECI data shows that enumeration forms have reached 93% of voters. The distribution began on November 4, with a deadline for BLOs to complete the process, including getting the forms filled, by December 4. Meanwhile, local body elections in Kerala are scheduled for December 9 and 11. The ECI and the State Election Commission have agreed to exempt BLOs involved in the SIR from duties related to the local body polls.
