Kolkata, February 7: Voters in West Bengal will no longer need to download and print their voter slips or rely on local political party leaders before heading to polling booths. The Election Commission of India (ECI) has decided that booth-level officers (BLOs) will distribute voter slips directly to voters’ homes ahead of the elections.
This decision follows a recommendation from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of West Bengal. An insider from the CEO’s office stated, “According to electoral process regulations, it is the duty of the BLOs to distribute voter slips. However, this practice had ceased in West Bengal elections since 2011. This time, the commission aims to reinstate it. This will not only simplify the process for voters but also enhance the transparency of distributing the voter list.”
Sources indicate that if voter slips are not distributed, voters can directly contact the respective BLOs to obtain their slips.
Meanwhile, the commission has sent a reminder to the office of West Bengal’s Chief Secretary, Nandini Chakraborty, to promptly release pending payments for BLOs, BLO supervisors, Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) involved in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in the state.
This marks the third time the commission has reached out to the Chief Secretary’s office regarding this matter. The commission had sent a reminder last August, followed by another in December.
Notably, tensions have risen between the state government and the Election Commission ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections, particularly after the SIR process. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has repeatedly leveled serious allegations against the Election Commission. She has also approached the Supreme Court regarding the SIR process, which has resulted in the court issuing a notice to the commission.