Kerala BLOs Boycott Election Duties Following Colleague's Suicide Due to Work Pressure

The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process in Kerala faced significant disruption on Monday when booth-level officers (BLOs) across the state boycotted their duties following the tragic suicide of a colleague reportedly due to work-related stress.

Aneesh George, a 44-year-old BLO from Payyannur in Kannur district, was discovered hanging at his residence on Sunday. His family members and local residents have attributed his death to the overwhelming pressure associated with the SIR exercise.

Multiple trade unions representing state government employees, including the Action Council of State Government Employees and Teachers and the Joint Committee of Teacher Service Organizations, organized protests at district collectorates. Their demands included reducing the pressure on BLOs and considering a postponement of the SIR process.

The Kerala NGO Association also conducted statewide demonstrations, calling for an immediate halt to SIR procedures to prevent further tragedies of this nature.

Following the post-mortem examination on Monday, George's body was released to his family. His relatives emphasized that he had been experiencing severe work-related stress connected to the SIR exercise.

"He didn't even have time for proper meals or adequate rest. He was under tremendous pressure to complete his assigned SIR tasks," stated Saiju, George's brother-in-law, while speaking to the media. He further mentioned that George was constantly contacted by senior officials requesting progress updates.

"Seeing his overwhelming workload, George's father advised him not to worry even if it meant losing his position," Saiju added.

Opposition Leader V D Satheesan indicated that preliminary investigations suggested the potential involvement of CPI(M) workers in George's suicide should be examined as well.

"We've learned that George received threats after being accompanied by a Congress booth-level agent during enumeration," he alleged. Satheesan also claimed that both the BJP and CPI(M) were attempting to exclude traditional Congress voters from the electoral rolls.

"While the BJP is implementing SIR with questionable intentions, the CPI(M) is advancing it in Kerala. We will strongly oppose this through legal and political means," he stated.

Satheesan urged both the state government and the Election Commission of India (ECI) to ensure BLOs' safety and conduct a comprehensive investigation into the matter.

"The majority of BLOs are women. Each booth contains approximately 700-1,200 voters, requiring BLOs to make multiple household visits to achieve their targets within a limited timeframe," he noted.

Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Sunny Joseph revealed that a recorded phone conversation indicated George had been threatened by CPI(M) workers for being accompanied by Congress booth-level agents during the enumeration process.

"The conversation revealed that CPI(M) members threatened to file a false complaint against George, accusing him of distributing Congress pamphlets to households. Beyond work pressure, this political intimidation contributed to his suicide," Joseph explained.

He confirmed that the Congress party fully supports the protesting BLOs and expressed hope that their action would prompt the Election Commission to reconsider its approach.

"Despite our repeated requests, the Commission decided to conduct SIR at a time when local body elections had already been announced," he said.

Joseph mentioned the party's intention to challenge the SIR process in the Supreme Court, arguing that the current approach undermines democratic rights.

"By using the 2002 voters' list as a reference, even I would be denied voting rights. Numerous political leaders would be excluded from the voters' list. The Government of India and the Election Commission are effectively eliminating citizens' fundamental democratic rights," he alleged.