Bengal SIR: In Kolkata, BLOs face anxious questions over documents, deadlines

As West Bengal’s SIR (Special Intensive Revision) of electoral rolls enters its first week, BLO (booth-level officers) on the ground are fielding a barrage of anxious queries from voters — from how NRIs can file forms to whether those born after 2002 risk being excluded.

The ECI (Election Commission of India) has tasked BLOs with house-to-house verification based on the 2002 voter roll, the last time such a revision was conducted in the state.

In Kolkata’s Naktala–Baishnabghata belt under the Tollygunge assembly segment, one BLO’s phone has not stopped ringing. “I can visit your residence only after a week-and-a-half… we are still at serial number 400,” he told a worried caller. To a voter who enrolled in 2023, he reassured: “Don’t worry. Your name won’t be dropped.”

Wading through narrow lanes, the BLO — who did not wish to be named — said he has managed to distribute forms to 300 households within the first three days since 4 November.

At one residence, 70-year-old Prabir Sen worried that his son and daughter, both living abroad, could not return before the 4 December deadline. The BLO advised that they submit the forms online after downloading them from the ECI website and entering details such as EPIC and booth part number.

Another couple, Balaram and Monobina Paul, expressed concern that both their children were either born after 2002 or too young at the time. The officer assured them their names would not be flagged. “Your children have voted in previous Assembly and Lok Sabha polls. Your names appear in the 2002 list,” he said.

Elsewhere on D.P.P Road, 49-year-old Anushila Dasgupta said she voted in Kamarhati in 2002 but cannot locate her name in that roll online after shifting to south Kolkata. The BLO said he would check why the list appeared incomplete. “You have voted in later elections and your parents’ names exist in the 2002 roll. There is no issue,” he assured.

The SIR has also created a common meeting ground across class lines. At a Trinamool Congress help desk, a retired colonel, a homemaker, a taxi driver and domestic workers queued up seeking clarifications. “People ask if senior citizen cards or Swasthya Sathi documents count as ID proof. We refer them to the EC’s 11 approved documents,” said local TMC worker Sabyasachi Basu.

According to the chief electoral officer’s office, 1.1 crore enumeration forms were distributed until 8.00 pm on 5 November, underscoring the scale — and the confusion — surrounding the exercise.

With PTI inputs