Another BLO dies by suicide, this time in UP: What's causing these deaths amid SIR exercise

BLOs are responsible for verifying voter information at the grassroots level to ensure the accuracy of the electoral rolls.

The recent deaths of several Booth Level Officers (BLOs) during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls have raised concerns about the workload and mental stress faced by these frontline election officials.

The latest tragedy occurred in Uttar Pradesh's Moradabad, where 46-year-old teacher Sarvesh Kumar, serving as a BLO for the first time, was found dead at his home.

Later, a video that surfaced shows Kumar apologising to his family for being unable to complete his work and asking them to care for his four daughters. He reportedly said he wanted to live, but the pressure was “too much.” A note left at his home indicated he could not cope with the work-related stress.

At least 10 BLOs have died in the past week due to stress or suicide. Among them are Rinku Tarafdar (Bengal, Nadia), Kamal Naskar and Zakir Hossain (Bengal), Aneesh George (Kerala), Hariom Bairwa (Rajasthan), and four teachers in Gujarat, whose deaths have been linked to the unbearable SIR workload.

Furthermore, several BLOs have resigned in protest over impossible workloads.

In Noida, Uttar Pradesh, teacher and BLO Pinky Singh quit, citing her inability to manage both teaching and voter verification for 1,179 voters. In Kerala, one BLO publicly protested by stripping while collecting voter forms, prompting a show-cause notice from the Election Commission (EC).

BLOs are responsible for verifying voter information at the grassroots level to ensure the accuracy of the electoral rolls. Their duties include door-to-door data collection, cross-checking entries with existing records, distributing and collecting thousands of forms, and repeated household verification.

During the current SIR phase, spanning 12 states and Union Territories, including West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Rajasthan, Goa, Gujarat, and Puducherry, BLOs perform these tasks alongside their regular jobs, often working 14–18 hours a day for low remuneration.

Opposition leaders have strongly criticised the EC for imposing extreme pressure on BLOs.

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi has said, “Under the guise of SIR, chaos has been unleashed across the country. In three weeks, 16 BLOs have lost their lives, heart attacks, stress, and suicides. This SIR is no reform; it is an imposed tyranny.” TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee has called the situation “truly alarming” and demanded a halt to the SIR exercise, citing “inhuman” work pressure.

The BJP has, however, stated that the deaths were not solely due to SIR workloads, citing additional political and administrative pressures in various states.

Meanwhile, the RSS-affiliated Akhil Bhartiya Rashtriya Shaikshik Mahasangh (ABRSM), representing 13.5 lakh teachers across 29 states and Union Territories, wrote to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar last week, demanding an extension of the SIR deadline and Rs 1 crore compensation plus government jobs for families of deceased BLOs.

The ABRSM described the workload as “unethical” and “unrealistic,” highlighting 16-18 hour workdays, repeated portal crashes, network failures, OTP and data upload issues, intimidation by officials, and public hostility. They demanded deadline extensions to ensure stress-free, accurate, and high-quality voter verification.

The Election Commission has expressed concern over the deaths and clarified that workloads for BLOs should not exceed 1,000 voters per officer. The EC also announced that annual allowances have been doubled to Rs 12,000, and SIR incentives increased to Rs 2,000, acknowledging the “physically and mentally taxing” nature of the work.

Currently, the SIR exercise involves 5.3 lakh BLOs, 7.64 lakh Booth Level Agents (BLAs), 10,448 EROs/AEROs, and 321 DEOs across 321 districts and 1,843 Assembly Constituencies, with BLOs making multiple household visits to ensure accurate voter data while managing full-time jobs.

Each BLO is responsible for a polling booth, covering about 1,000 voters across roughly 300 households. Daily workloads require visiting around 20 households, often repeatedly, under tight deadlines. Technical difficulties, uncooperative residents, and senior official oversight further increase stress, making the work highly demanding.

According to the EC, 98.89% of voters in SIR states and UTs have received their forms, with only 20.19% of data digitised so far.

The spate of deaths and resignations has triggered protests in Kerala and West Bengal, with unions demanding relief from immense SIR pressure. On Monday, BLOs clashed with police while protesting outside the West Bengal Election Commission office in Kolkata. The protesters demanded a two-month extension of the SIR deadline and sought compensation for the families of BLOs who had died.

The SIR exercise continues in Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Puducherry, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, and Lakshadweep, while Assam is conducting a separate “Special Revision” ahead of state elections.