Bengal BLOs protest ‘unreasonable’ work pressure; SIR process keeps getting delayed

Several block-level officers (BLOs) on Saturday (November 15) staged protests in Siliguri and Howrah, alleging that the Election Commission (EC) was subjecting them to intense and unreasonable work pressure, including late-night instructions and sudden orders for digital data entry.

The protest at Siliguri’s Dinabandhu Mancha training centre turned chaotic as several BLOs walked out of an ongoing digital data-entry training session, shouting slogans.

‘Unmanageable workload’

The agitators claimed the poll body had “suddenly” directed them to shift to digital data entry and undergo immediate training, which they said was impossible to manage at such short notice.

Many alleged that fresh responsibilities were being added day after day, making the workload unmanageable.

Also Read: BJP eyes SIR-driven Bengal sweep after Bihar election victory

Some claimed they were receiving calls from the Commission "late into the night", disrupting their personal lives.

Protests in Howrah

Similar protests were reported in Howrah.

On Friday, 240 BLOs of Shibpur Assembly constituency were scheduled to undergo data-entry training at a government office on the East-West Bypass in Tikiapara.

Also Read: 2026 Kerala assembly polls: CPM says SIR poses serious threat, cites Bihar results

They complained that they were being asked to enter data twice, once manually and again digitally, in addition to handling a large volume of forms that had to be submitted to the EC within a short span.

The BLOs also alleged that several older officers were unfamiliar with technology and struggling with the transition.

'We cannot take this pressure'

Saheli Naskar, a teacher and protesting BLO, said, "We have to take classes at school and then rush to finish EC work under pressure. We cannot handle this much load. Now they are forcing us to take digital data-entry training. We will not do digital data entry under such pressure. We are boycotting this work."

Also Read: Why SIR has left Cooch Behar migrants in Rajasthan in a fix

Another protesting teacher-BLO, Prakash Maji, said, "We are being asked to fill nearly 200 forms both manually and digitally. We cannot take this pressure. If needed, we will submit a deputation to the district magistrate."

SIR process delayed

In Bengal, over 80,000 BLOs have been engaged for house-to-house visits and distribution of enumeration forms (EFs) as part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Despite this, four days after the distribution of forms was supposed to have been completed, 98.08 per cent of forms have been distributed to voters, show figures posted on EC's X handle at 3 pm on November 15. The EC extended the date from November 11 to November 14 and then to November 15. While one one side, filled-in forms were started being collected on November 15, about 2 per cent of voters (14.7 lakh) are yet to get them.

(With agency inputs)