BLO group sits through night at CEO office as standoff over workload intensifies

A section of booth-level officers spent the entire night inside the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer's office, refusing to leave until CEO Manoj Kumar Agarwal met them and accepted their charter of demands, as their protest over "unmanageable workload" during the ongoing SIR escalated sharply.

Several of them have been demonstrating there since Monday evening, continuing a standoff that began after their march from College Square in north Kolkata to BBD Bag in the central part of the city, where the CEO's office is located.

The overnight sit-in by members of the newly formed BLO Adhikar Raksha Committee began on Monday afternoon and stretched into Tuesday morning, with protesters insisting they would not withdraw until Agarwal personally received their deputation.

The agitation was called to highlight what they termed "excessive work pressure" and "inhuman workloads" under the SIR process.

After a long impasse, the police allowed a 13-member delegation to enter the office to submit a deputation, briefly easing tension. But fresh unrest erupted soon afterwards.

Around 4.30 pm, just before the deputation was to be submitted, several committee members sat down outside the CEO's chamber, demanding that Agarwal himself accept the memorandum. Slogans followed, and the third floor of the building briefly turned chaotic.

Deputy Commissioner (Central) Indira Mukhopadhyay reached the spot as police personnel pulled protesters away from the cabin area. The agitators soon regrouped inside the office and resumed their sit-in.

By night, seven members stayed back inside the premises, including convenor Moidul Islam, a school teacher but not a BLO, Amit Mondal (BLO, Maniktala), Sonali Chakraborty (BLO, Part 196, Purulia), Tanushree Bhattacharya (BLO, Part 194, Jorasanko) and Soifullah Haldar (BLO, Part 35, Raidighi).

"He must come and take our deputation. We want to submit our charter of demands to him. Until then, we will not leave," Islam said.

On Monday, Agarwal told reporters it was "not possible" for him to accept every deputation and said the two deputy CEOs were available for the purpose. The committee rejected the offer.

The unrest came amid growing anger among BLOs across the state. At least three have died by suicide in recent weeks, with their families blaming the intense workload linked to door-to-door distribution and collection of SIR forms and uploading them.

Agarwal left his office around 11.40 pm under police escort and declined to comment on the confrontation.

But the protesters remained unmoved. Wrapped in shawls and seated on the floor, they stayed inside the office through the night.

On Tuesday morning, the scene remained unchanged.

The same group continued their sit-in, waiting for the CEO to appear, while the corridor outside his office stayed crowded with security personnel.

"We are only asking for humane treatment and manageable duties," one BLO said.