Kolkata, Feb 7 People who will be voting in the crucial Assembly elections in West Bengal this year, will no longer have to download their voters’ slip and take printouts or depend on the local leaders of different political parties for the same, before going to polling booths to exercise their franchise.
The Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will reach the doorsteps of the voters before the elections this time and distribute the voters’ slips, as per the latest order of the Election Commission of India (ECI).
The decision had been taken by the Commission following a recommendation from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, on this count.
"As per electoral process rules, it is the duty of the BLOs to distribute voters’ slips among the voters. However, this became a forgotten practice in any election in West Bengal since 2011. But this time, the Commission wants to reinforce the practice. This will not only make things easier for the voters but will also make the system of the distribution of the voters’ list more transparent,” said an insider from the CEO’s office.
He also said that in case the voters’ slips are not distributed, the voters concerned would be able to contact the BLOs concerned and get the voters’ slips directly from them.
Meanwhile, the Commission had sent a reminder to the office of the West Bengal Chief Secretary, Nandini Chakraborty for immediate release of the remuneration amounts due to the BLOs, BLO supervisors, Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) for their engagement in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in the state.
This is the third communication made to the office of the Chief Secretary from the Commission in the matter. The first communication in the matter was sent in August last year, followed by the second one in December last year.
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