In Raidighi, South 24 Parganas, a Booth Level Officer (BLO), Mehboob Rehman Mollah, has been hospitalized after suffering a brain stroke. The incident has ignited a political firestorm, with the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) alleging that excessive workload related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is to blame. Mollah, a 52-year-old school teacher, was reportedly admitted to Diamond Harbour Hospital before being transferred to a Kolkata hospital for advanced treatment.
The TMC has strongly criticized the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the central government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), accusing them of creating "unbearable stress" for election workers. The party claims that the SIR exercise is "soulless" and imposes unrealistic targets on BLOs. In a post on X, the TMC stated that Mollah "collapsed under unbearable SIR pressure and suffered a brain stroke" and is "fighting for his life in a hospital". They also questioned how many more deaths the BJP needs to "pile up before this madness stops".
Mollah's family stated that he had been working on the SIR exercise since November 4, often for over 20 hours a day, while also managing his duties as a school teacher. They added that the stress increased after several voters in his booth received hearing notices as part of the revision process.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had previously voiced concerns about the SIR exercise. In a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner on January 12, she claimed that the process had already resulted in 77 deaths, four suicide attempts, and at least 17 cases of serious illness requiring hospitalization. She attributed these incidents to "fear, intimidation and disproportionate workload arising from what she termed an unplanned exercise". Banerjee has also alleged that AI-driven errors in electoral roll digitization are causing hardship to genuine voters during the SIR exercise. She claims that women electors are being questioned and summoned to prove their identity, reflecting a lack of social sensitivity.
The BJP has dismissed Mamata Banerjee's allegations as "desperate" and "politically motivated". Suvendu Adhikari, West Bengal's leader of opposition, rejected claims of harassment, intimidation, and excessive workload, calling them unsubstantiated. He also dismissed the connection between the deaths and the electoral revision as fabricated or opportunistically linked to unrelated incidents.
The SIR exercise has faced other challenges, including resignations by BLOs citing workload pressure and hostility from voters. In Murshidabad's Farakka block, around 30 BLOs withdrew from SIR duties, alleging that frequent changes in instructions from the Election Commission of India (ECI) had made their job "unmanageable". There have also been reports of voters ransacking hearing camps due to agitation.
The Election Commission has not yet responded to the latest allegations regarding Mollah's hospitalization. The ECI maintains that SIR is a routine administrative exercise intended to ensure accurate voter rolls. However, these incidents have triggered serious questions about implementation, timelines, and support for both citizens and field-level officials involved in the process.
