Electoral Roll Revision: BLOs Struggle, Political Parties Step In to Guide Voters

The ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has revealed significant challenges faced by Booth Level Officers (BLOs) in effectively covering their assigned areas, with political parties stepping in to fill the gaps. The house-to-house distribution of enumeration forms, now in its tenth day, has shown that the success of the process depends heavily on the competence of BLOs and the awareness of voters.

In many areas, BLOs are unfamiliar with the localities they are assigned to. Drawn from 10-15 departments such as Urban Development, Health, Women and Child Welfare, Education, Revenue, and Roads and Buildings, these officers include record assistants, ASHA workers, Anganwadi workers, and sanitary staff. Most have no prior connection to the polling stations they are serving. Given vague maps on a mobile app, many struggle to identify which houses fall under their jurisdiction.

“I work as a binder in the government printing press. About 200 of us have been deputed as BLOs, all in faraway areas. I often end up standing on the streets wondering where I am,” said Venkatram (name changed), a BLO covering parts of the Malakpet constituency. He starts at 9 a.m. and finishes around midnight, spending most of his time calling voters whose phone numbers are available on the app. “It’s easier to navigate this way,” he added, noting that workers from the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) have been helpful, possessing accurate information about every voter in the polling stations.

The AIMIM has developed its own mobile app with comprehensive voter data, which BLOs find more reliable than the official app. In contrast, some residents have reported difficulties with BLOs who lack basic literacy. “BLOs in our area are ASHA and Anganwadi workers who cannot even write names correctly. I had to correct my name and phone number three or four times before they got it right,” said V. Anuradha, a resident of LB Nagar. Another resident, D. Latha from BN Reddy Nagar, noted that her BLO did not know that forms must be collected before July 24.

Election officials, however, maintain that BLOs have received sufficient training. “A month-long pre-SIR mapping exercise was conducted, during which BLOs were exempted from regular duties. They should be well-versed with the localities if they participated,” an official said.