Kerala district administrations seek volunteers for SIR of electoral rolls amid pressure on BLOs

Various district administrations in Kerala have started seeking help from volunteers to expedite the work of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls amid complaints that booth level officers (BLO) are being put under immense pressure.

District Collector, Thiruvananthapuram, published an advertisement on social media platforms seeking student volunteers for the technical part of SIR implementation. Volunteers will need to dedicate five to six hours to this work on weekends. “We need help with: a) data digitization, b) technical support, c) office assistance,” the ad reads. People selected for the study will have flexible working hours and will be allocated areas close to their residences or voting centers. Certificates will also be given “according to the participation rate”.

Ernakulam District Collection also published a similar advertisement calling for technical volunteers. “Volunteers are needed to assist BLOs with SIR census forms,” he says.

Chief Electoral Officer (Kerala) Rathan U. Kelkar told The Hindu that most of the district collectors have reached out to volunteers for the work.

The house-to-house counting phase of the SIR, which began in Kerala on November 4, has been mired in controversy, with BLOs, political parties and service organizations complaining that BLOs are overworked due to operational overlap with upcoming local body elections in Kerala and pressure to meet unfair deadlines.

Mr. Kelkar on Tuesday informed political parties that the criteria for appointment of their booth-level representatives (BLA) have been relaxed by the Election Commission of India (ECI) and they can set up help desks for support voters by collecting completed census forms. A majority of BLOs had boycotted the SIR work on Monday following the death of a BLO in Kannur district on Sunday; service organizations attributed this to mental stress from SIR work.

The CEO on Wednesday directed all ECI-appointed BLOs to hold meetings with BLAs appointed by political parties in their jurisdiction “to ensure maximum accuracy and transparency” in the electoral rolls.