Kolkata, Oct 25 (IANS) West Bengal Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari on Saturday cautioned the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) about the inclusion of names of Trinamool Congress’s office bearers in the list of the booth-level officers (BLOs).

While cautioning the ECI and the CEO’s office, the leader of the opposition, as an example, highlighted a particular case where a party office bearer of Trinamool Congress in South 24 Parganas has been selected as a BLO.

According to information provided by the leader of the opposition, the concerned BLO is Md. Alauddin Molla and his name is in the list of BLOs for Diamond Harbour constituency in South 24 Paragans.

Adhikari has pointed out that the same person is one of the area presidents of the ruling party, and his wife Liala Bibi is an elected Trinamool Congress panchayat member from block number two of Diamond Harbour.

Apprehending that there might be more such cases of inclusion of Trinamool Congress office bearers in the BLO list, the leader of the opposition had requested the CEO, West Bengal, to identify and remove all politically affiliated persons who have been appointed as BLOs to work in favour of the ruling party.

Adhikari has also cautioned that if such politically affiliated persons continue to be on the voters’ list, there is every possibility that they might manipulate the electoral process.

The selection of BLOs in West Bengal had been shrouded in controversy since the beginning. First, the allegations were that contractual state government employees and para-teachers were included as BLOs, bypassing the ECI’s mandate that permanent state government employees and permanent teachers attached to state-run schools should be considered for selection as BLOs.

There had also been complaints about irregularities in the selection of electoral registration officers (EROs). While the commission has mandated that only West Bengal Civil Service (WBCS) cadre officers in the ranks of sub-divisional officers or sub-divisional magistrates, or rural development officers would be selected as EROs, there were allegations that officers below such ranks were included in the list of EROs.

–IANS

src/dan