A Booth Level Officer (BLO) was found dead in West Bengal’s Bankura district on Sunday, sparking fresh political controversy and allegations that mounting work pressure linked to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls may have contributed to the incident. Police said the body of the deceased, identified as Haradhan Mandal, was recovered from a school premises in the Ranibandh block, where he had been assigned election-related duties.
According to officials, Mandal, who was a schoolteacher by profession, was serving as the BLO for Booth No. 206 in the Rajakata area of Ranibandh. A police officer said a handwritten note was recovered from the spot, which is believed to be a suicide note. Preliminary findings suggest that the note referred to the pressure he was facing in connection with his duties during the ongoing voter list revision exercise. The body has been sent for post-mortem examination, and an investigation has been launched to determine the exact circumstances surrounding his death.
The incident has intensified political tensions in the state, with the Trinamool Congress accusing the BJP and the Election Commission of pushing through the SIR process in a manner that has caused widespread distress among officials involved. TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee alleged that the exercise had created an atmosphere of panic, anxiety and exhaustion, leading to tragic consequences. He claimed that more than 50 people had died due to stress and pressure arising from what he described as a “hurried and chaotic” voter verification drive.
In a post on social media platform X, Banerjee said the deceased BLO had been unable to cope with the inhuman workload imposed during the SIR process. He accused the BJP of forcing the exercise through for political gain and alleged that the Election Commission had acted in a partisan manner. According to him, the voter revision process, which should have been carried out methodically and sensitively, was instead being “bulldozed” to suit the ruling party’s electoral interests.
Banerjee further alleged that the Election Commission had compromised its neutrality and was acting under political pressure. He claimed that the stress created by the rushed exercise had pushed officials to breaking point, and that deaths caused by exhaustion, anxiety or fear were being treated as collateral damage. He said the people of West Bengal would neither forget nor forgive what he termed an abuse of power, adding that history would judge those responsible.
Police officials, meanwhile, said they are examining all aspects of the case. They confirmed that the note recovered from the scene referred to work-related stress, but said a detailed investigation was still underway to establish the full sequence of events. Authorities have not yet officially linked the death to the SIR process, pending further inquiry.
The Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls began in West Bengal on November 4, with Booth Level Officers tasked with verifying voter data and updating records. The exercise has been politically contentious, with the Trinamool Congress repeatedly alleging that it is being used as a tool to influence electoral outcomes ahead of upcoming polls. The BJP and the Election Commission have rejected these accusations, maintaining that the process is routine and necessary to ensure accurate voter lists.
The death of the BLO has now added to the controversy, intensifying scrutiny of the SIR exercise and prompting renewed debate over the pressure faced by field-level officials tasked with implementing it.
