BLOs will have to go to BDOs, SDOs to access SIR correction window
Times of India | 2 December 2025
Kolkata: Booth level officers cannot make corrections themselves in the enumeration forms uploaded in the past weeks, an EC directive on Monday said.
Now they need to take permission from the electoral registration officer (ERO) with supporting documents to access a correction window from the office of the block development officer (BDO) or subdivisional officer (SDO) with a nod from the ERO.
A day after extending the deadline of the SIR exercise by a week, the Election Commission of India opened the correction window on Monday. The BLOs received a WhatsApp alert from EROs on Monday about the correction window, which is likely to remain available till Dec 11.
"Now we cannot change anything in the uploaded forms. On Nov 22, the edit option was removed from the BLO App, and prior to that, we used to rectify errors ourselves at home. After the removal of the edit option, several correction works are pending, and now we have to visit the ERO's office to have the same work done. This is an extra hassle for us," said a BLO.
TOI reported last week that several BLOs who completed distribution, collection, and digitisation were anxious about minor errors that slipped into the uploaded forms — mistakes they hoped to fix once the correction window opened. Although rectifications are now permitted, officers can only make changes from govt offices and under the supervision of their seniors.
The new protocol comes after BJP neta Suvendu Adhikari recently wrote to CEC Gyanesh Kumar, alleging that BLOs in Bengal were being intimidated by Trinamool Congress. Adhikari claimed that while CM Mamata Banerjee publicly declared BLOs to be state govt employees accountable to the state, she was "creating an environment of fear and pressure, which jeopardises the democratic process".
"The edit option on the BLO app has been removed. We must now visit the BDO office and make corrections in the presence of our superiors. Every single change requires permission," said Subhadeep Ghosh, a BLO from Batanagar.
Ghosh said 19 of the 799 forms he uploaded need corrections. "Some address errors crept in inadvertently. There was also confusion regarding the section where we must list dead, shifted, and missing voters. That has since been clarified, but the corrections must be done at the office and with approval," said Ghosh.
In Salt Lake, BLO Baishali Ganguly needs to rectify 83 forms. "Errors surfaced in several cases, and we've also received new instructions to sort forms by serial number. I have multiple corrections to make, but I can do so only at the SDO office," she said.
A senior EC official said, "BLOs can make corrections even after digitisation. With the deadline of the SIR exercise being extended, the BLOs can utilise the extra time to cross-check their entries and rectify errors if any."