Deaths, Suicide Claims, Resignations: What's Pushing Poll Officers To Edge

At least nine Booth-Level Officers - foot soldiers in the contentious revision of voter lists before a flurry of Assembly elections next year - have died, by suicide or otherwise, across the country over the past week, including in poll-bound West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. Their deaths have focused attention on demands on the hapless BLOs, for most of whom this is a second (and low-paying) gig.

The deaths have also led to a spat between the opposition, led by the Congress' Rahul Gandhi and Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, and the Election Commission. As with Bihar, the opposition has questioned the timing of voter list revisions in multiple states, including five that will vote in 2026.

Apart from Bengal and Tamil Nadu, these are Goa, Gujarat, and Puducherry.

And a Jharkhand minister even demanded people "capture BLOs" when they visit their homes for voter verification, a ridiculous comment that only adds to the stress they are already under.

The poll body has expressed concern over the deaths and said workloads assigned to BLOs must not exceed 1,000 voters each. The EC also said it had doubled allowances - to Rs 12,000 per year for this physically and mentally taxing job - and SIR-related incentives to Rs 2,000.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, meanwhile, has come out swinging at the opposition, accusing it of obstructing voter revision by failing to provide BLOs with resources and then politicising their deaths.

'Can't do this anymore', says UP BLO

The pressure on BLOs was underlined this week in a letter from Uttar Pradesh's Noida; Pinky Singh resigned complaining that it was impossible to retain her job as a government school teacher while also overseeing verification of 1,179 voters in a residential colony 10 km away.

"I am resigning... won't be able to do this anymore. I can neither teach nor do BLO work."

READ | "Can't Do This Anymore": Noida Teacher Quits Over SIR Work Pressure

Twenty-four hours earlier a BLO in Bengal's South 24 Parganas district had been hospitalised for stress. Kamal Naskar said he went door-to-door to complete the first phase of the allotted voter list work, and had been given less than two weeks to ensure the return of filled-in forms.

READ | Bengal Teacher Hospitalised, Family Claims Stress Due To SIR Duty

And two days before he was hospitalised a BLO from Bengal's Nadia district died by suicide - Rinku Tarafdar was found dead in her home and her family blamed SIR-related stress.

READ | Bengal BLO Found Dead, Family Says Stress Over Voter Roll Revision

At least two other deaths have been reported from Bengal.

BLO deaths have also been reported from Kerala - Aneesh George died by suicide; Rajasthan - Hariom Bairwa died after allegedly being put under pressure by senior poll officials; and Gujarat - four school teachers died after dealing with 'disproportionate and unbearable workloads during SIR process'.

The death in Kerala and Bengal also prompted protests with BLOs and employee unions demanding the authorities act to relieve the stress. Some of these protests turned violent.

READ | Bengal Poll Officers Protest At Poll Body's Office Over SIR Pressure

Some were different; in Kerala last week, a BLO in the northern part of the state stripped naked in public while filling out voters' enumeration forms. The EC has issued a show-cause notice.

'Imposed tyranny', says opposition

Opposition leaders like Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and Trinamool boss Mamata Banerjee have ripped into the Election Commission on this issue, accusing the poll body of putting BLOs under immense pressure to hit near-impossible voter re-verification targets.

On Monday Gandhi said, "Under the guise of SIR (the special intensive revision of voter rolls), chaos has been unleashed across the country. The result? In three weeks, 16 BLOs have lost their lives. Heart attacks, stress, suicides... this SIR is no reform, it's an imposed tyranny."

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi has slammed the EC for 'pressure' on BLOs (File).

The Congress leader, who has relentlessly accused the BJP and Election Commission of collusion to commit voter fraud, also said the pressure on BLOs - to achieve a minimum number of voter verifications daily - is being added to by pressure from political parties.

Mamata Banerjee was no less scathing in her criticism.

READ | 'BLOs Operating Beyond Human Limits': Mamata Banerjee To EC Chief

She has demanded the EC halt the SIR because of "inhuman" work pressure on BLOs. They are "operating far beyond human limits", she declared, criticising the poll panel for intimidating workers.

Profoundly shocked to know of the death of yet another BLO, a lady para- teacher,who has committed suicide at Krishnanagar today . BLO of part number 201 of AC 82 Chapra, Smt Rinku Tarafdar, has blamed ECI in her suicide note ( copy is attached herewith) before committing… pic.twitter.com/xG0TyD4VNy

— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) November 22, 2025

And, in a post on X, thundered, "How many more lives will be lost? How many more need to die for this SIR? How many more dead bodies shall we see for this? This has become truly alarming now!"

So, who are BLOs?

A BLO represents the Election Commission at the grassroots level, and s/he plays a key role in collecting information from every voter registered at polling stations in areas assigned to them.

RECAP | Poll-Bound Bengal, Tamil Nadu Among 12 States In SIR Phase 2

The voter list revision across 12 states and union territories in this phase requires them to distribute and collect thousands of forms, match current data with old entries (most of which are not digitised) and conduct physical door-to-door verification, in addition to their day jobs.

And every BLO makes multiple attempts to reach every voter, which can, and often does, translates into repeat visits to a single home to physically verify every registered individual.

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