After getting a letter from Election Commission of India (ECI), Opposition parties in West Bengal are preparing a Booth Level Agents (BLA) list, while the TMC is yet to make an official decision.
On July 30, the ECI wrote to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of West Bengal to prepare the Booth Level Agents (BLA) list as soon as possible to complete preparation of Special Intensive Review (SIR) in the state. After this, the CEO of West Bengal had informed all political parties to submit their BLA lists as soon as possible.
The letter by the ECI stated, “… BLAs, appointed by the political parties, have to play an important role in the SIR activities. Therefore, all the political parties must be informed in writing and they should be persuaded for the appointment of BLAs immediately so that these BLAs are in field during SIR and they can bring out any kind of anomaly to the notice during SIR activity.”
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee already announced that she would not suspend state government officials as per the direction of ECI. A day after the Election Commission of India (ECI) ordered action against five government officials over alleged voter fraud, Banerjee hit back on Wednesday, declaring she would go to any extent to protect her officers.
After getting the letter from ECI, BJP General Secretary Jagannath Chattopadhyay said, “The Election Commission does electoral roll revisions each year and political parties have to submit Booth Level Agent lists for that. This year, the ECI introduced Special Intensive Revision (SIR)… we will also submit (the BLA list) within the stipulated time.”
On the other hand, CPIM leader Shatarup Ghosh said, “As far as I know, ECI is not saying that this BLA list is necessary for SIR… We need to finalise the BLA list and submit to the ECI because, during the scrutiny, our BLA will accompany Booth Level Officers (BLO) and will protest if they see the ECI is asking for documents which are not necessary for voter list revision or any irregularities. Otherwise, we will have no knowledge about ECI’s activity.”
Congress spokesperson Soumya Aich Roy said, “We are ready to send the list. We have an internal meeting and after that, we will finalise the names.”
Meanwhile, a senior TMC leader said, “Our party supremo Mamata Banerjee criticised the ECI’s plan to have the names of BLA in advance. We are also against SIR. So, whether the party will send the list to ECI or not will be decided by the top leadership. We don’t have any indication of that.”
Speaking in Jhargram on Wednesday, Mamata Banerjee accused the ECI of acting under the BJP’s influence. “Government workers are being intimidated. Two officers were served suspension notices yesterday. Have the elections even been announced yet? Which law allows them to be suspended at this stage? It is our responsibility to protect you all. We will do that,” she said.
The ECI had directed the suspension of five officers — including two West Bengal Civil Service officers and two Assistant Electoral Registration Officers — in connection with the alleged fraudulent registration of 127 voters using forged documents in Baruipur Purba and Moyna Assembly constituencies. A data entry operator has also been named in the FIR for criminal misconduct. The action followed a report submitted by the CEO of West Bengal.
Criticising the ECI’s move, Banerjee said, “They have started suspending people even though a long time is left before elections. They (ECI) are the bonded labour of BJP. (Home Minister Amit Shah) thinks whatever he says will happen.”