TMC Blames CEC For 39 BLO Deaths During Bengal Voter Roll Revision

In an explosive two-hour confrontation at Nirvachan Sadan on Friday, a high-powered Trinamool Congress delegation led by Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien directly accused Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of bearing responsibility for the deaths of 39 Booth Level Officers engaged in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in West Bengal. The delegation handed over a detailed list of the deceased officials and declared that the Commission had “blood on its hands” for pushing ahead with what they termed an unplanned and perilous exercise.

The TMC representatives told the full bench of the Election Commission that the sudden and massive scale of the SIR had imposed intolerable pressure on thousands of school teachers and government employees serving as BLOs, leading to fatalities from exhaustion, road accidents, and health complications. Despite submitting five pointed questions on safety protocols, workload management, and alleged political targeting of the state, the delegation claimed the CEC spoke for nearly an hour yet provided no substantive answers or assurances of immediate corrective measures.

Emerging from the meeting visibly agitated, Derek O’Brien stated that the Commission appeared shockingly unaware of the ground reality and offered only evasive responses. He emphasised that while Trinamool Congress supports the principle of maintaining accurate voter lists, it categorically rejects a process that endangers the lives of public servants and appears designed to disproportionately burden opposition-ruled West Bengal ahead of future elections.

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TMC MP Mahua Moitra sharpened the attack by questioning the selective intensity of the revision drive, pointing out that West Bengal is the only border state facing such rigorous scrutiny despite several others sharing frontiers with Bangladesh and Myanmar. She accused the Election Commission of acting in alignment with the ruling BJP’s political agenda, particularly its narrative on infiltration, while remaining indifferent to the human cost being paid by ordinary officers on the ground.

The confrontation follows a strongly worded letter from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee earlier this week demanding immediate suspension of the exercise until proper safeguards are instituted. With the Commission yet to issue any public clarification or relief measures, the Trinamool Congress warned that it will escalate its protest both inside Parliament and on the streets if the “heartless” implementation of the SIR is not halted and accountability fixed for the lives already lost.

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