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Abhishek Banerjee's Election Move: Why BLAs Must Shadow BLOs in West Bengal

Abhishek Banerjee has instructed Trinamool Congress booth-level agents to shadow Election Commission officers during the voter list revision. This comes as the first phase of the Special Intensive Revision exercise begins on November 4. The party is also setting up 6,200 help desks across West Bengal to assist voters throughout the process. The SIR exercise has become politically contentious with TMC calling it an NRC ploy while BJP alleges TMC fears illegal voter deletions.

Key Points: Abhishek Banerjee Directs TMC BLAs to Shadow BLOs in SIR

  • BLOs will visit every doorstep with enumeration forms in first phase
  • TMC establishing 6,200 help desks operating from November 4 to December 4
  • Special Intensive Revision last conducted in West Bengal back in 2002
  • TMC describes SIR as indirect ploy to implement NRC in state
  • BJP claims TMC fears deletion of illegal immigrants from voter lists
2 min read

Abhishek Banerjee directs party BLAs to 'shadow' BLOs during SIR exercise

TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee instructs party agents to monitor Election Commission officers during voter list revision exercise starting November 4 in West Bengal.

"It was also decided at the virtual organisational meeting that the party will open area-wise help-desks throughout the state to assist the voters from November 4 - Party Leader"

Kolkata, Oct 31

Trinamool Congress general secretary and the party Lok Sabha member, Abhishek Banerjee, on Friday, instructed the booth-level agents (BLAs) of the party to shadow the booth-level officers (BLOs) appointed by the Election Commission of India (ECI) for the special intensive revision (SIR) exercise, the first stage of which is starting from November 4.

The role of BLOs is most crucial in the first stage of the three-stage SIR exercise, since in that phase, the BLOs will reach every doorstep with the enumeration forms and collect the details of the voters concerned. At the end of the first phase, the draft voters' list in the state will be announced.

Hence, it is presumed that the instructions for the BLAs to shadow the BLOs are meant for the first phase only.

The instructions to the BLOs on this count were given at a virtual organisational meeting of the party, which was chaired by Abhishek Banerjee and attended to fix the to fix organisational responsibilities of the party leaders, elected responsibilities, members in the state cabinet, and grassroots-level party workers for the SIR.

"It was also decided at the virtual organisational meeting that the party will open area-wise help-desks throughout the state to assist the voters from November 4, and these helpdesks will continue to operate till the entire SIR exercise is over. There will be a total of 6,200 helpdesks throughout the state. These helpdesks will operate from November 4 to December 4 daily between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.," said a party leader who attended the meeting.

The last time that the SIR was conducted in West Bengal was in 2002. The current SIR is being conducted with the voters' list in 2002 being the base.

Since the beginning, the SIR had been a controversial issue in West Bengal. Trinamool Congress had described the SIR as an indirect ploy to slap the NRC in West Bengal. On the other hand, the BJP had claimed that Trinamool Congress was opposing SIR out of the fear that the names of illegal Bangladeshi and Rohingya infiltrators would be deleted from the voters' list.

- IANS

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Reader Comments

R
Rohit P
Why is this SIR exercise so controversial? If it's just about updating voter lists, shouldn't all parties support it? The help desks sound helpful though - hope they actually assist people properly.
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Arjun K
Shadowing BLOs seems like political interference to me. The Election Commission should ensure their officers can work independently without party agents breathing down their necks. This sets a dangerous precedent.
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Sarah B
As someone who recently moved to Kolkata, I appreciate the help desks initiative. Navigating government procedures can be confusing, especially for new residents. Hope they're actually functional!
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Vikram M
Using 2002 as base year? That's 20 years ago! So much has changed since then. Many people have migrated, passed away, or become eligible voters. The entire process needs to be more current. 🤔
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Ananya R
Both sides are playing politics with voter lists. Instead of accusations about NRC or illegal voters, why can't we focus on ensuring every legitimate Indian citizen gets to exercise their voting right? That's what democracy is about.

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