EC begins special training for BLOs in Bengal
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Kolkata: A special training for booth level officers (BLOs) has kicked off in Bengal, the Election Commission said on Friday. Nearly 900 BLOs would attend the training at the city's Mahajati Sadan on Saturday, an official said, highlighting how such sessions have never been held in Bengal.
Trinamool questioned the timing of these special training sessions, asking whether they were linked to any special intensive revision (SIR) of voter rolls in Bengal.
Bengal chief electoral officer (CEO) Manoj Agarwal said: "SIR is not our domain. It will be decided by ECI. But booth level officers are critical to holding elections and election-related tasks. They are involved in all pre-poll processes. Such training sessions were never held before."
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These trainings were first held in Delhi and nearly 1,000 BLOs from the state attended them, Agarwal said. "It began in Bengal on Thursday with Malda and, on Friday, it was done in East Burdwan. Four districts are being covered. Three BLOs from every constituency are taking part in this. After Kolkata, we have such programmes in Midnapore and Jalpaiguri," he added.
TMC has threatened to launch statewide protests, including at Nirvachan Sadan in Delhi, if Bengal voters are struck off rolls on grounds of (absence of) additional documents.
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BJP has demanded a Bihar-like SIR rollout in Bengal.
The unease started with the commission asking Bengal govt to provide more "administrative and financial autonomy" to the state's chief electoral officer, requesting it to carve out a separate "election department" and give it a "separate budget". The EC also asked the state to quickly fill up vacant senior officers' posts in the CEO's office ahead of the 2026 assembly polls.
A source said Bengal govt has recommended nine names against three vacant posts for the EC to choose from. For the post of additional CEO, the state has proposed the names of Sudip Mitra, special secretary in the personnel and administrative reforms department, Sujay Sarkar, special secretary, Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation, and panchayat department additional secretary Sudip Sarkar.
For the post of joint CEO, the names of Samyajit Debnath, secretary of Staff Selection Commission, Bahnisikha De, additional secretary in the health department, and Arundhuti Bhowmick, additional secretary in the MSME department, have been proposed.
For deputy CEO, the state has proposed the names of Ranjan Chakraborty, deputy secretary in the power department, Priyaranjan Das, deputy secretary of PWD, and Rajib Mondal, land manager, Bidhannagar, urban development department.
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