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2h ago

Kerala BLO’s Death Prompts Boycott as ECI Drives End‑November Digitisation Push in Bengal

Compressed SIR timelines with duplicate data-entry demands are driving unrest across the rollout.

The Election Commission has assured that special measures are being taken to ensure that all eligible citizens are included.
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The SIR exercise in Kerala, which heads for Assembly polls next year, currently coincides with the work of the local body polls which are scheduled for December.
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Overview

  • Kerala government employee unions announced a statewide boycott for November 17 and protest marches after BLO Aneesh George, 44, was found dead in Kannur, with the Chief Electoral Officer seeking a report from the district collector.
  • Family and colleagues said George faced intense pressure to complete SIR tasks, a strain compounded by overlapping duties for local body elections scheduled in December.
  • In West Bengal, BLOs staged protests, refused digital data-entry training, and formally sought deadline extensions and recruitment of data-entry operators to manage the workload.
  • The West Bengal CEO and the Election Commission reviewed progress and set a November-end target for digitising enumeration forms, with a senior ECI delegation slated to visit the state from November 18 to 21.
  • An ECI daily bulletin reported 100% printing and about 97.5% distribution of enumeration forms across 12 regions, as political parties in Bengal clashed over the SIR’s execution and potential voter roll deletions.