Outside Bengal CEO’s office, BLOs face off with BJP leaders

Adhikari claimed that the CEO’s office itself is not safe. The BJP leaders handed over a representation to the CEO, demanding that the SIR exercise be completed in a clean manner and with proper security.

Police managed the situation before the BJP delegation met election officials and the special observer.

BJP MLAs faced protests from BLOs outside the West Bengal CEO office over demands for compensation and an extension of the electoral roll revision. (Express Photo)

A group of Booth Level Officers (BLOs), protesting outside the office of the state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) in Kolkata, on Monday, had an altercation with the BJP delegation, which had come to meet CEO Manoj Agarwal over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal.

As the BJP delegation, led by Leader of Opposition in Assembly Suvendu Adhikari, reached the CEO office, the BLOs, who are protesting against the SIR “workload pressure” and demanding extension of the voters survey process by two months, started shouting slogans.

The BJP leaders also shouted back, accusing the BLOs of carrying out the protest at the behest of the ruling TMC.

As the situation flared up, the BLOs tried to breach the barricades, leading to intervention by the police. The altercation continued for about 20 minutes before the BJP leaders were escorted by the police into the CEO’s office. Later, Adhikari described the demonstration by the BLOs as “scripted by the TMC” against the EC. “The protests reflect that the TMC wants this SIR to stop immediately, so that it can protect its vote bank comprising of infiltrators,” the BJP leader said.

Election officials declined to comment on the protests.

A BLO said, “The EC should extend the (SIR) deadline further. What will happen to the families of those who lost their lives? Compensation should be paid to them,” said a BLO.

Meanwhile, in its meeting with the CEO, the BJP delegation alleged that the TMC’s political consultancy agency, I-PAC, was “interfering in the data entry process” during the ongoing SIR exercise in the state.

Adhikari claimed that the CEO’s office itself is not safe. The BJP leaders handed over a representation to the CEO, demanding that the SIR exercise be completed in a clean manner and with proper security.

Atri Mitra

Atri Mitra is a Special Correspondent of The Indian Express with more than 20 years of experience in reporting from West Bengal, Bihar and the North-East. He has been covering administration and political news for more than ten years and has a keen interest in political development in West Bengal. Atri holds a Master degree in Economics from Rabindrabharati University and Bachelor's degree from Calcutta University. He is also an alumnus of St. Xavier's, Kolkata and Ramakrishna Mission Asrama, Narendrapur. He started his career with leading vernacular daily the Anandabazar Patrika, and worked there for more than fifteen years. He worked as Bihar correspondent for more than three years for Anandabazar Patrika. He covered the 2009 Lok Sabha election and 2010 assembly elections. He also worked with News18-Bangla and covered the Bihar Lok Sabha election in 2019. ... Read More

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