House-to-House Verification in SIR: What BLOs actually do on ground

The SIR is currently underway in Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Puducherry, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep. (File photo)

As the Election Commission of India (EC) conducts the Special Summary Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls across 12 states and union territories, the crucial role of Booth Level Officers (BLOs) has come into focus. Tasked with verifying, updating, and digitising voter details, BLOs are the frontline workers who ensure that every eligible voter is accounted for and no one is left out of the electoral process.

Each BLO is responsible for one booth within an assembly constituency.

Across India, a typical booth covers around 1,000 voters, generally drawn from about 300 households. The size of a booth can vary depending on population density, urbanisation, and geographical spread. Political parties and election officials often rely on these estimates for planning outreach and field operations.

BLOs carry out their duties in two rounds.

>> The first round involves distributing enumeration forms to all electors linked to their booth.

>> The second round entails collecting the completed forms to ensure they are ready for digitisation.

With two interactions per household, a BLO typically manages around 600 household visits over the 30-day SIR period, which this year runs from 4 November to 4 December.

To complete the task on schedule, BLOs need to cover roughly 20 households per day -- about 10 for distributing forms and 10 for collection. In most areas, whether dense urban colonies, small towns, or villages, households are clustered along a street or within a neighbourhood, making the workload logistically feasible.

By comparison, delivery personnel for major e-commerce platforms handle 30-60 deliveries daily in similar layouts, highlighting that the work, while demanding, is considered manageable.

As per the EC’s daily bulletin, 98.89% of the 51 crore electors across the SIR states and UTs have already received their forms. Digitisation, the stage that follows collection, has currently reached 20.19%, though this figure varies depending on state size, sequencing, and local logistical challenges.

The SIR is currently underway in Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Puducherry, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep. In addition, the EC has ordered a separate ‘Special Revision’ of Assam’s electoral rolls ahead of the state’s upcoming polls.

BLOs play a critical role in maintaining the integrity of India’s electoral process. Their house-to-house verification ensures that no eligible voter is left out, errors are minimised, and the electoral rolls reflect the most accurate and updated information. The SIR is an essential exercise not only for upcoming elections but also for strengthening the overall democratic process in the country.