Over 300 Mumbai Booth Level Officers Skip Election Duties Demanding Work Relief
On Tuesday, the commencement of Mumbai's door-to-door voter enumeration drive was disrupted after over 300 Booth Level Officers (BLOs), including school teachers and civic employees, skipped their election duties. The boycott significantly impacted areas like the Vile Parle Assembly constituency, where nearly 75 of around 280 appointed BLOs failed to report to collect their enumeration forms.
The absentee officers, who include Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) employees and teachers from government and aided schools, are demanding to be formally relieved of their routine responsibilities before undertaking the month-long Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
The SIR drive requires BLOs to visit every household in their assigned area to fill and verify enumeration forms, obtain signatures, and upload details online. Each officer is assigned 900 to 1,000 voters and must visit each household at least three times over the next month. Mumbai has around 10,000 BLOs, consisting of approximately 7,000 BMC employees and 3,000 school teachers.
Subhash More, working president of the Shikshak Bharti Association, stated that between 200 and 300 teachers appointed as BLOs across Mumbai stayed away from duty. More highlighted the heavy workload, noting that teachers travel, teach for eight hours, and are then expected to conduct door-to-door enumeration. He also alleged a lack of travel allowance, safety measures, and clarity on their responsibilities.
In Vile Parle, a senior election official noted that the task is challenging as housing societies often refuse entry and residents are frequently away. However, about 65 percent of voters in Vile Parle had completed a preliminary self-mapping exercise, which eased some of the field verification workload.
In another Mumbai Suburban constituency, about 10 percent of appointed BLOs remained absent, while heavy rain further hampered field operations.
Election authorities stated that a Supreme Court order prevents teachers and government employees from being officially exempted from BLO duties. Mumbai City Collector Aanchal Goyal said she had not been officially notified of any BLOs failing to report, adding that heavy rain had affected the day's enumeration. Goyal also noted that teachers receive an extra honorarium for their BLO duties.
Local election officials are currently in discussions with school principals to negotiate unofficial work relaxations for the teachers, though a formal compromise is still being sought.
