Karnataka election officials threaten BLOs with action over 24-hour target

Booth Level Officers (BLOs) across Karnataka have been threatened with disciplinary action by Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) if they fail to raise their Special Intensive Revision (SIR) progress from under 60% to 75% within a single day.

The notices, issued on Monday, directed the officers to meet the 75% target by Tuesday or face formal reports to their superiors for negligence, irresponsibility, and dereliction of duty.

According to the notices, the daily progress of the enumeration work is being monitored closely by the District Collector and the District Election Officer. Both officials have reportedly expressed strong objections to the current pace of work, leading to the ultimatum. BLOs who fail to meet the 75% threshold on Tuesday have been ordered to appear in person to submit a report explaining their shortfall.

In response, BLOs have protested the intense pressure, stating that claims of comprehensive training are false. Multiple officers reported that they have not received clear instructions on basic procedures, such as how to digitize voter data, link voters, or fill out specific sections of the enumeration forms. When seeking guidance, BLOs claim they receive conflicting instructions from different departments, with some senior officials telling them to watch YouTube tutorials to resolve their queries.

A major point of contention is the requirement for BLOs to declare that they have verified the 2002 electoral roll details. BLOs argue that they lack both the training and the time to conduct these verifications. They noted that while the overall deadline for the exercise has been extended, officials continue to push them to repeatedly call voters to submit forms early, even though voters have requested more time to complete the paperwork.

Furthermore, BLOs pointed out that Booth Level Agents (BLAs), who are appointed by political parties to accompany them during door-to-door visits, are not showing up to help. Instead of assisting on the ground, BLAs have reportedly joined senior officials in pressuring the BLOs to ensure no errors are made and no voters are left out. BLOs stated they have written to officials at various levels to highlight these challenges, but their concerns have been ignored.