BLOs juggle queries from voters as new names added to Calcutta electoral roll
Telegraph | 18 December 2025
Scores of new voters are approaching booth-level officers (BLOs) to enlist themselves in the revised voter list.
The BLOs, who are camping in polling stations, are supposed to carry with them forms for corrections, additions of names and deletions.
Besides distributing forms, the BLOs are also distributing notices for hearing to new voters who applied to add their names to the voter list before the special intensive revision (SIR) began.
A BLO, who was present at Eliyas Meyer School, said more than 100 Form 6 — for the addition of names to the voter list — were distributed by the four BLOs camping at the school on Wednesday.
“Many who collected the forms on Wednesday were not present when the enumeration forms were distributed as part of the ongoing SIR. They came and told us that they did not receive the forms and hence wanted to enlist their names,” said the BLO.
Multiple BLOs told Metro that the names of voters that were deleted from the draft list have to be added as new voters by filling out Form 6.
Zayed Khan, 19, a resident of Ganesh Chandra Avenue, was among those who were at Eliyas Meyer School to add his name. “I am waiting for the BLO to hand over the form,” he said.
Many voters were still trickling into the polling stations on Wednesday to check the draft electoral roll. Some also asked if those whose names feature in the draft list may be called for hearings.
Ranjana Majumdar, 65, was at the Kumartuli Institute near Kumartuli Park, to check if the draft list had the names of her and her daughter. “I cannot check it online, so I came here to check if the list has our names,” she said.
Three BLOs present at the Kumartuli Institute said many voters had come since morning to check their names. “Some of the voters were also checking if their photographs on the list had been updated,” said a BLO. The area is part of Shyampukur Assembly constituency.
While filing out the enumeration forms, voters had to provide the latest pictures.
Even on Wednesday, BLOs were missing from many polling stations. This newspaper visited Welland Gouldsmith School on BB Ganguly Street that turns into a polling station during elections but no BLO had turned up. Neither a list had been displayed.
“We have no information that BLOs will come to our school. No one has even come with any list for displaying it here,” said a security.
At the Ling Liang High School on Hyde Lane, in Bowbazar, no BLO had turned up till 1pm. No one had come on Tuesday either. “Some people came in the morning and told me they will be here from the afternoon,” said a security guard at the school. The area is part of Chowringhee Assembly constituency.
BLOs from other constituencies in the city said they have been asked to also paste the draft electoral list in the polling stations so that people can come and see it at their convenience, even if a BLO was not present at that time of the day.