- By Shibra Arshad
- Tue, 25 Nov 2025 04:20 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
SIR 2.0: The claims of work pressure pushing the Booth Level Officers (BLOs) to the edge have been hogging the headlines since the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced its intention to update the voter list in 12 states and union territories through a special intensive revision (SIR).
As per media reports, at least 9 BLOs - the fundamental unit of officers carrying out the contentious revision of voter lists have died over the past weeks across the country, primarily by suicide.
The SIR process is being rushed to finish the work before a flurry of assembly elections next year. The news reports of SIR BLOs’ committing suicide or dying due to stress-related causes have brought their demands to the centre. For most of the people working as BLOs, it is a low-paying, short gig. The deaths have occurred in multiple states, including Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.
The unfortunate incidents have also led to the political spat between opposition parties like Rahul Gandhi’s Congress, Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress and the ECI. The opposition has questioned the timing of SIR in Bihar and 6 other states that will go to polls in 2026.
The Bharatiya Janata Party, on the other hand, accused the opposition of creating a hindrance in the process by politicising the deaths of BLOs.
‘Can’t Do This Anymore’: Says Noida BLO
The work pressure that took a toll on several BLOs was underlined by a letter written by a BLO, Pinky Singh from Uttar Pradesh’s Noida, when she resigned from her job. She gave her resignation, complaining that it was impossible to retain her job as a government school teacher while also overseeing the 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."
Several other news reports about BLOs committing suicide due to work pressure or suffering a heart attack have surfaced.
Kerala BLO Strips Naked
In contrast to these reports, a BLO in the northern part of Kerala stripped naked in public last week while filling out voters' enumeration forms. He has been served a show-cause notice by ECI.
‘Imposed Tyranny’: Opposition
Opposition leaders have accused the poll body of putting BLOs under immense pressure to complete the work within an unrealistic deadline.
Rahul Gandhi, on Monday, 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."
ECI Doubles The BLO Salary
Before the beginning of the SIR process, the Election Commission of India has doubled the payout given to BLOs from 2015. According to the announcement made about the revised pay in August, the poll body has increased the salaries of BLOs from 6000 to 12000 per year.