Booth Level Officers Stage Protests Against Digital Workload
Amid the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal, hundreds of Booth Level Officers (BLOs) across multiple districts staged protests on Saturday against the sudden implementation of digital data entry requirements. The officers refused to participate in training sessions and voiced strong opposition to what they describe as unreasonable work pressure from the Election Commission of India.
Widespread Protests Across Key Districts
The protests erupted simultaneously in several important regions of the state. In Barrackpore region, approximately one hundred BLOs gathered at the Sub-Divisional Office to demonstrate their dissatisfaction. Meanwhile, in Tikiapara, Howrah district, officers completely boycotted the digital training sessions that had been arranged for them.
The situation in Siliguri mirrored these developments, where training had to be halted at Deenbandhu Manch due to strong protests from the BLOs. The officers expressed their inability to manage the additional responsibilities being thrust upon them without adequate preparation or support.
Double Workload and Last-Minute Instructions
According to protesting BLOs, the Election Commission has directed them to enter data twice – once manually and again digitally through the ECI app. This comes after他们已经 distributed and collected enumeration forms across their respective booths. The officers highlighted the practical difficulties of managing such a large volume of forms within the tight deadlines set by the election authorities.
BLOs from Howrah, Barrackpore, and Siliguri specifically mentioned that the poll body had issued late-night instructions and sudden orders regarding the shift to digital data entry. They described the immediate training requirement as impossible to manage given the short notice and existing workload.
The protest comes at a critical time when the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer's office has directed all district election officials to complete the collection of filled-in SIR enumeration forms within November itself.
Political Reactions and Official Responses
The situation has drawn reactions from political leaders across party lines. Leader of Opposition in Assembly Suvendu Adhikari criticized the state government for failing to hire data entry operators, noting that the Bihar government had recruited four thousand such operators for similar work.
However, TMC leader Debangshu Bhattacharya questioned the Election Commission's timeline itself, stating that completing SIR within three months was impossible. He referenced the 2002 SIR that took two years to complete, contrasting it with the current rushed schedule.
A senior official revealed that BLOs have already requested the state government to hire data entry operators. Failing that, they have asked District Electoral Officers and Electoral Registration Officers to hire operators locally to manage the digital workload.
The protests highlight the growing tension between digital transformation initiatives and ground-level implementation challenges in India's electoral process, particularly in West Bengal where political significance of accurate voter lists remains paramount.
