Kerala Booth Officer Found Hanging Amid Alleged SIR Work Pressure; Parties Claim Excessive Election Duties Led To Tragedy

The body of a Booth Level Officer (BLO) in the Indian city of Kannur, Kerala, was found dead under tragic circumstances; it has been reported that the officer died due to the massive work pressure related to the Special Intensive Revising (SIR) of the electoral rolls. Aneesh George, the deceased, was a school staff member and was discovered hanging in his house. 

His relatives and friends have directly accused the excessive work and stress from his election duties, saying that he was working late at night to finish the rigorous SIR-related tasks.

The incident has rocked both the administration and politics, and the harsh public scrutiny of the intensity of election-related work has begun. The police are investigating the matter to find out what exactly caused the unfortunate death.

Political Reaction and Excessive Election Duties

The passing away has caused a political storm that is full of accusations and counter accusations. The major political parties in the state have expressed their opinions without delay and have also raised the issue of the overburdening of election duties on the officials to a greater extent. 

The ruling party and opposition have together criticized the Election Commission’s decision to hold SIR before the local body elections, saying that it has created a great burden for the BLOs to the point that it has become unmanageable.

The leaders of different parties have directly pointed their fingers at the heavy workload and pressure tactics as the reasons for the death and have thus asked for the SIR to be put on hold till the local government elections are over. 

They claim that the pressure of doing intensive door-to-door verification, collecting forms, and entering data in a short time is simply not feasible.

Electoral Commission’s Stance on Work Pressure

The Chief Electoral Officer of Kerala has requested a report from the District Collector regarding the matter, as responding to the grave accusations of unlimited work pressure. Even though the CEO has recognized the necessity of a complete probe, he has kept the position that the BLOs’ tasks for the SIR are bearable.

The commission claims that for the 31-day enumeration period of the SIR, BLOs were completely freed from all their usual departmental tasks to ensure their full attention. Besides, the Election Commission stated that the BLOs’ work is performed on a “collective manner” basis, which indicates a system to alleviate individual burden.

Nevertheless, the calamity and the unending political pressure to do not regulate the SIR and local elections simultaneously highlight a huge gap between the official instructions and the situation of the staff on the ground.

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