No pressure on BLOs to complete SIR work; public must cooperate: Kerala CEO

Thiruvananthapuram: Days after the suicide of a Booth Level Officer (BLO) in Kannur and the protests that followed, Kerala Chief Electoral Officer Rathan U Kelkar urged the public to cooperate with the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in the state. He noted that the SIR aims to ensure a “pure electoral roll,” which requires the cooperation of all stakeholders, including citizens.

Addressing the media here on Wednesday, he stated that BLOs would not be pressured but would be encouraged to fulfil their responsibilities.

Kelkar also warned that strict criminal action would be taken against anyone who obstructs the work of BLOs engaged in SIR work. He told the media that he had received reports from across the state of Booth Level Officers being prevented from performing their duties, misinformation being spread about them, and instances of cyberattacks targeting them.

“BLOs implementing the Special Intensive Revision on the mandate of the Election Commission of India (ECI) are deemed public servants, and any obstruction of their duties, cyberattacks against them, or dissemination of false information will attract penal action under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Action will be taken under Section 121 (voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt to deter a public servant from duty) of the BNS, or under relevant cyber laws or the Information Technology Act, as applicable,” Kelkar said.

He added that the SIR was being carried out strictly in accordance with the ECI’s schedule and must be completed within the mandated time frame.

“All necessary support, including police protection and assistance from voluntary organisations, will be provided to BLOs, and instructions to this effect have been issued to district collectors,” he said.

Enumeration forms distributed to 97% of voters

According to the CEO, enumeration forms have been distributed to more than 97 per cent of voters listed in the 2025 roll. He added that around five lakh forms have already been collected and digitised.

The first round of the SIR, comprising the distribution, collection, and digitisation of forms, which commenced on November 4, will be completed by December 4, reported PTI. 

He also told the media that 55,000 forms were tagged as uncollectable, as 29,000 voters among them are deceased and about 20,000 have relocated. The remaining cases comprise untraceable individuals and duplicate entries.

“Technically, these should be deleted. However, we have asked political parties to hold meetings of their booth-level agents with the BLOs to verify these numbers so that we arrive at a correct and mutually agreed figure,” he added.