BLO in Bengal collapses amid SIR work, latest in growing trail of illness, death

A fieldworker in West Bengal’s Hooghly district has fallen seriously ill while carrying out duties as a Booth-Level Officer (BLO), prompting her formal relief from her workload — and casting renewed scrutiny on the burdens shouldered by BLOs nationwide.

On Wednesday, Tapati Biswas — an Anganwadi worker who had been serving as a BLO in Konnagar — collapsed during enumeration form-distribution and was taken to the Konnagar Municipal Hospital. Doctors diagnosed a cerebral attack that paralysed the left side of her body.

An official from the state chief electoral officer’s office confirmed that “following reports of her medical condition, she has been formally relieved from BLO responsibilities”.

Her husband Prabir Biswas said Tapati had been under significant pressure from the ongoing SIR-related tasks. In his words as reported by Hindustan Times: “My wife had been complaining about excessive work pressure. She couldn’t sleep at night… She kept saying if she gave up midway then she might be arrested and lose her Anganwadi job on which we depend.” Reports said her blood sugar and blood pressure levels were elevated.

National pattern of alarming fatalities

This is not an isolated incident. Across India, BLOs assigned to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls have begun to report collapsing health, extreme fatigue and, in some tragic cases, death. In West Bengal alone, chief minister Mamata Banerjee has stated that 28 people have died since SIR began — “some due to fear and uncertainty, others due to stress and overload”.

In Kerala’s Kannur district, 44-year-old BLO Aneesh George died by suicide at home. His family blamed extreme mental stress linked to his SIR duties — including distributing roughly 165 enumeration forms and lengthy late-night work. Opposition leaders alleged political interference on top of workload burdens.

In Rajasthan’s Sawai Madhopur district, 35-year-old BLO Hariom Bairwa died of cardiac arrest at home while on SIR duty. Family members claimed that pressure from the exercise contributed to his death.

Another case in West Bengal: 50-year-old BLO Namita Hansda died in East Burdwan after suffering a cerebral stroke while working late to meet SIR form-distribution deadlines. Her husband alleged she was under tremendous pressure to complete 80 per cent of the work by Saturday, receiving multiple calls and working into the night.

What BLOs say about their workload

The Print reports that BLOs in several states say they are being assigned enormous responsibilities with tight timelines that are widely considered unfeasible. One BLO in Kerala pointed out: “We were asked to distribute and collect. But then we learnt that we had three days to upload and scan them. How can we upload so many forms through the phone in three days? How long should we work?”

Typically, a BLO in this exercise may be responsible for a booth covering 700-1,500 voters. The process now demands multiple house-to-house visits, form distribution, follow-ups, data upload and reconciliation — all in addition to the BLO’s regular duties (often a teaching, Anganwadi or panchayat role). In many cases, they are not relieved of their original responsibilities.

Political reactions and calls for action

In Bengal, Mamata Banerjee accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of imposing “unplanned, relentless workload” and urged it to “immediately halt this unplanned drive before more lives are lost”. She said the SIR process — originally a three-year revision project — was being rushed into two months, placing “inhuman pressure” on BLOs.

In Kerala, Congress leader V.D. Satheesan alleged that Aneesh George’s death was also driven by political intimidation and unrealistic targets. He said: “BLOs across the state… were consistently reporting unbearable workloads. Each BLO is required to visit every household in a booth at least three times, covering between 700 and 1,500 voters.”

The Congress party took to social media in Gujarat, asking “Who’s accountable?” after the death of a polling agent blamed on “unbearable SIR workload”.

Relevance to the latest case

In the Hooghly district case, Tapati Biswas fits the pattern. She was an Anganwadi worker assigned to BLO duties, under pressure from SIR tasks, and her collapse follows the trend seen in other states. Her husband’s claim that she feared job loss if she failed to comply aligns with reports of BLOs feeling trapped by overlapping responsibilities and tight deadlines. Her relief from duty after the attack underscores the seriousness of the situation.

The bigger picture

The SIR exercise is underway across 12 states and Union Territories. With enumeration forms, multiple visits per household, digitisation and upload targets, the pace is sharp and the deadline unyielding. The responsibility falls heavily on BLOs — many of whom are not full-time election officials but carry dual duties. The series of deaths and health incidents raise urgent questions about workload, deadlines, support systems and safeguards for these workers.

As the number of fatalities grows and protests spread, the institutional challenge becomes clear: how to revise electoral rolls thoroughly and fairly without overburdening the backbone of the process — the BLOs. Recent events suggest that without careful recalibration, the human cost may only increase.

With agency inputs