Recognised parties told to appoint booth level agents by Sept 30: CEO

Haryana Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) A Sreenivas has directed all recognised national and state political parties to appoint their Booth Level Agents (BLAs) by September 30, 2025 and share the details with his office as well as all Deputy Commissioners and District Election Officers.

Addressing party representatives during a meeting on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Electoral Rolls, Sreenivas said this was the first such intensive revision in Haryana after nearly 23 years. “As per the Election Commission’s guidelines, all states and Union Territories are undertaking pre-revision work of electoral rolls. In Haryana, the current roll will be cross-verified with the 2002 roll. If a voter’s name is found in both lists, no additional documents will be required, though an enumeration form will still need to be filled,” he said.

Stressing the role of BLAs, the CEO said: “Booth Level Agents act as a crucial link for BLOs in preparing error-free electoral rolls. They know their polling station areas, who has turned 18, which voters have passed away, and who has shifted residence. That information is critical for accuracy.”

He asked parties to also submit the list of their authorised officials responsible for appointing BLAs to his office. Clarifying eligibility, he said only Indian citizens can be enrolled as voters under Article 326 of the Constitution and foreign nationals cannot be included in the rolls.

Sreenivas also informed that the Election Commission is working to make voter data searchable across all states. Once implemented, anyone will be able to check names on the ECI portal.

He further corrected an error in earlier bulletins, stating that the deadline for BLOs to complete matching of the 2002 voter list with the 2024 roll is September 20, 2025, not October 20 as mentioned earlier.

The meeting was attended by Additional CEO Hema Sharma, Joint CEO Raj Kumar Lohan, and representatives of various political parties.