Kolkata, Nov 12 (IANS) The Election Commission’s decision to relax the rules for appointing Booth Level Agents (BLAs) eight days after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise began in West Bengal has irked the Trinamool Congress, while the BJP has welcomed the move.

Until now, the rules of the Commission for appointing BLAs have been strictly enforced. The 2023 guidelines said that if someone becomes a BLA from any political party, they must be a voter of that particular booth. However, bringing a modification to this rule, the Election Commission on Tuesday said that to become a BLA, it is not necessary to be a voter of a specific booth. It will be necessary to be a voter of the concerned Assembly constituency.

“Normally, one BLA may be appointed for each part of the electoral roll. The BLA should be a registered elector in the relevant Part of the electoral roll for which he/she is appointed. In case of unavailability of Booth Level Agent (BLA) from the same part of the electoral roll, Booth Level Agent may be appointed from any registered elector of the same Assembly Constituency. It is expected that the BLA will scrutinise the entries in the draft roll of the part for which he/she is appointed as BLA to identify entries of electors who are dead or shifted,” read the new guideline.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) sent this guideline to the Chief Electoral Officers of all states and union territories.

Sharing the guideline on his X handle, Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly Suvendu Adhikari said, “I welcome the Election Commission of India’s timely decision on modifications to the Booth Level Agent (BLA) appointment criteria. This progressive step, outlined in the ECI’s directive enhances flexibility by allowing BLAs from the same Assembly Constituency in cases of unavailability, while ensuring rigorous scrutiny of electoral rolls to identify shifted or deceased voters.”

Sources said the move will give a boost to the prospects of the BJP in West Bengal, as the party has found it difficult to appoint BLAs in every booth, due to its weak organisational strength in a large number of areas. With this change, the party will now be in a better position to appoint BLAs in every booth, as he or she would have to be voters of the concerned Assembly constituency.

Welcoming this move, the BJP leader further said, “This will undoubtedly strengthen the integrity of our electoral process, promote transparency, and empower political parties to contribute more effectively towards accurate voter lists. A big thumbs up to the ECI for listening to the ground realities and bolstering democracy.”

However, the Trinamool Congress is unhappy with the ECI’s decision as it would provide an undue advantage to the BJP in the state.

The Trinamool Congress alleged that there is a nexus between the poll panel and the BJP to give the latter an impetus to make further inroads into the state.

“The Election Commission has quietly and cunningly amended the rules regarding the appointment of BLAs. This raises serious questions. As per the existing rules, BLOs must be from the same booth or at least from the same polling station. So why is this exception only in the case of BLAs? Because the BJP is not able to find local agents in its own booths, it is trying to open the way for outsiders to distort the voting process from within,” said the Trinamool Congress in a social media post.

The party further said, “This proves once again that the Election Commission was once an independent constitutional body; today it has become a subordinate arm of the ruling party. It is not surprising — when the secretary of Amit Shah’s assistant ministry is made the Chief Election Commissioner, such rules will be changed to suit the ruling party. The BJP knows very well how to change the game — when it can’t win, buy the umpire.”

It may be noted that ahead of the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections, the then BJP leader Mukul Roy had made a similar proposal to the Election Commission that if the person is a voter of the particular Assembly constituency, then he/she should be allowed to be the party’s polling agent in any booth on the day of the election in that constituency.

–IANS

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