Rising Toll: BLO Deaths Spotlight Election Commission's Voter Revision Crisis in India

BLOs are executing the first phase of the 12-state (and one UT) voter list revision (File).

New Delhi:

At least nine Booth-Level Officers have died within a week across India, including in election-bound West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, highlighting the severe pressures faced by these electoral workers. These BLOs, who typically perform these duties as secondary employment with minimal compensation, have become the focus of a heated political debate.

The opposition, led by Congress' Rahul Gandhi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, has questioned the Election Commission's timing for voter list revisions in multiple states, particularly those with upcoming elections in 2026 including Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Gujarat, and Puducherry.

Adding to the tension, a Jharkhand minister made the inflammatory suggestion that people should "capture BLOs" during home verification visits, further escalating stress levels among these workers.

Responding to the crisis, the Election Commission has acknowledged concerns about BLO deaths and announced that workloads should be limited to 1,000 voters per officer. The EC has doubled annual allowances to Rs 12,000 and increased SIR-related incentives to Rs 2,000.

Meanwhile, the ruling BJP has countered opposition claims, accusing them of impeding the voter revision process and politicizing these tragic deaths.

The immense pressure on BLOs was illustrated by Pinky Singh from Uttar Pradesh's Noida, who resigned stating she couldn't maintain her primary job as a government school teacher while simultaneously verifying 1,179 voters in a residential colony 10 kilometers away.

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

In South 24 Parganas, West Bengal, BLO Kamal Naskar was hospitalized due to stress after conducting door-to-door verification with less than two weeks to collect completed forms.

Even more tragically, Rinku Tarafdar, a BLO from Bengal's Nadia district, died by suicide, with her family attributing her death to SIR-related stress. At least two additional deaths have been reported from Bengal.

Similar incidents have occurred across multiple states: Aneesh George died by suicide in Kerala; Hariom Bairwa died in Rajasthan allegedly after pressure from senior officials; and four school teachers died in Gujarat after dealing with "disproportionate and unbearable workloads during the SIR process."

These deaths have sparked protests, with some turning violent, as BLOs and employee unions demand action to alleviate work-related stress.

In an unusual incident in Kerala, a BLO stripped naked in public while completing voter enumeration forms, prompting a show-cause notice from the EC.

Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi criticized the Election Commission, stating, "Under the guise of SIR, 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."

Gandhi further alleged that both political pressure and verification quotas are contributing to the strain on BLOs.

Mamata Banerjee has demanded the EC halt the SIR process due to "inhuman" work conditions, stating BLOs are "operating far beyond human limits." In a social media post, she questioned, "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!"

BLOs represent the Election Commission at grassroots level, collecting information from every registered voter in their assigned areas. The current voter list revision across 12 states and territories requires them to distribute and collect thousands of forms, match current data with previous entries (often not digitized), and conduct in-person verifications—all while maintaining their primary employment.

These officials frequently make multiple attempts to reach voters, often resulting in repeated visits to individual homes to physically verify each registered person.