Error fear grips BLOs as edit tab vanishes from app
Times of India | 23 November 2025
Kolkata: The edit option that was introduced in the BLO app on Nov 19 — and had been malfunctioning from the next day itself — was reportedly removed altogether on Saturday morning. Booth level officers (BLOs) across the city faced the brunt as it affected their uploading work in the third weekend of the SIR exercise.
Members of Votekarmi and BLO Aikya Mancha, an outfit of the BLOs, submitted a prayer with CEO Manoj Kumar Agarwal, demanding the re-introduction of the edit option and resolving other issues pertaining to the app.
Swapan Mandal, general secretary of the outfit, said: "The BLOs engaged in the SIR exercise are under tremendous pressure due to miscommunication, workload, and slow server connected with the BLO app. We don't know why the edit option was withdrawn. In some cases, unintentional errors occur. With the removal of the edit option, BLOs are left with no alternative to correct these errors in the uploaded data. Additional CEO Dibyendu Das assured us that the problem would be resolved soon."
"While trying to correct entered data, I discovered that the edit option has vanished from the app. A Herculean task is being executed in a shorter span. While uploading data in a hurry, mistakes or typos are happening, and we need the edit option to correct the errors. The malfunctioning of the edit option is adding to our mental pressure," said a BLO.
The edit option is not working in all 12 states and UTs, where the SIR exercise has been going on, an EC official confirmed. "This problem has been reported since Nov 19. The BLOs are unable to access the edit option on account of a technical glitch. The commission is trying to fix it as early as possible," the official said.
The BLOs also apprised the EC of other issues related to the app. They pointed out that the server connected to the app is running very slow during the day but is faster post midnight, which is compelling them to work at odd hours. A BLO in south Kolkata said, "As the app is working faster post-midnight, many like me are uploading the data with sleepy eyes, and we are not used to typing fast on a mobile. This has made the data entry work error-prone." CEO Manoj Agarwal stated that he has called a meeting with telecom operators on Monday.
Meanwhile, the BLOs have requested a ‘remarks' option on the app to allow them to comment on whether they are satisfied with the uploaded data. Mandal said, "BLOs will be held responsible if there is anything wrong on their part in the uploaded data. So, BLOs should have a way to remark whether they are satisfied with the data given to them by electors."