The Election Commission of India has introduced a significant new protocol for Booth Level Officers (BLOs) in Kolkata and across West Bengal, mandating the capture of "live photos" as part of the voter hearing notice process. This directive, issued on Saturday, aims to add a layer of verifiable proof to the procedure of serving notices to unmapped or disputed voters.
What Does the New Directive Entail?
Under the updated norms, when a BLO visits an elector's residence to deliver a hearing notice, they are now required to take a live photograph of the recipient. This photograph must clearly capture the individual and include embedded metadata such as the date, time, and geographical location of the visit. The image is then uploaded directly through the dedicated BLO application.
An Election Commission official explained the rationale behind this move, stating that the newly added "upload live photo" feature is designed to ascertain that the BLO personally handed over the hearing notice to the elector at their registered home address. Previously, until Friday, BLOs only needed to upload a digital receipt confirming the service of the notice. This visual evidence is intended to bolster the integrity and transparency of the electoral revision process.
Mid-Process Implementation Causes Confusion
The rollout of this new rule has created some operational confusion among the BLOs on the ground. The hearing notice serving process has been ongoing since December 19, with hearings themselves commencing from December 27. The EC has clarified that the live photo requirement applies only to notices served from the date of the directive onward, not retrospectively.
However, this mid-stream change has raised practical concerns. One Kolkata BLO expressed frustration, stating, "This morning I got a call from my supervisor instructing me to upload the elector's live photo along with the receipt. I have already served 20 hearing notices, and now the EC sent a new list of 15 more voters. Why change the procedure now when we started last month? With constant new instructions and app features, we are getting confused about the correct workflow."
Another BLO confirmed adapting to the new system, saying, "After consulting my Electoral Registration Officer, I learned that those who already received notices won't need a photo. Today, I served notices to 7 individuals following the new procedure."
BLOs Voice Concerns Over Increasing Responsibilities
The move has drawn attention to the evolving and expanding duties of Booth Level Officers. Swapan Mandal, the general secretary of Votekarmi and BLO Aikya Mancha, an association representing BLOs, commented on the trend. He noted, "The Election Commission continues to assign new responsibilities to BLOs. Every new instruction typically means another feature added to the BLO App," highlighting the increasing digital and administrative load on these frontline election workers.
This directive underscores the EC's continued efforts to leverage technology for greater accountability in the voter list revision process, especially in key urban areas like Kolkata. While aimed at preventing discrepancies, its success hinges on seamless implementation and clear communication to the officers executing it on the ground.
