Amid reports of suicides by Booth Level Officers (BLOs) involved in the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, the Gautam Buddha Nagar administration registered FIRs on November 22 against over 60 BLOs and seven supervisors across three police stations for alleged negligence and disobedience.

Just days later, on November 27, Ghaziabad authorities filed a similar case against 21 government employees for “gross negligence” in their BLO duties.

This SIR has seen an unusual escalation in punitive measures. Bihar’s three-month exercise had resulted in 42 FIRs and 39 suspensions; Uttar Pradesh alone has reportedly surpassed that tally in just seven days, including these FIRs from Gautam Buddha Nagar (which includes Noida, Dadri, and Jewar) accounting for a significant share. 

EC officials insist they never directed states to file FIRs, but on the ground, poll workers say the message has been received differently.

This is against the backdrop of Uttar Pradesh having one of the most voluminous voter rolls. Out of 50 crore electors, 15 crore are from Uttar Pradesh alone. The sheer volume of this task in UP could also be one of the reasons why, in the Election Commission’s November 26 bulletin, the state was lagging behind other states in digitising forms, and why officials are increasing pressure on BLOs. 

In Noida, action was taken under Section 32 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, on the orders of District Magistrate Medha Rupam, who is also the District Election Officer of Noida. Ghaziabad officials have taken the same line.

Newslaundry accessed one of these FIRs from Noida to speak to those named in it.

‘Need heart surgery, but no medical leave’

One supervisor from Dadri, named in the FIR, works as an engineer in the Irrigation Department. The task of these supervisors is to oversee the work of BLOs.   

On condition of anonymity, he claimed, “The only reason my name was included in the FIR is that I did not sign the attendance sheet, and they assumed that I was not present. SDMs have themselves said that they are under intense pressure. Work cannot be done this way.”

“They are not even giving us medical leaves, saying ‘nobody has typhoid’ and that if anyone claims to be sick, a report will be filed against them. I have high blood pressure and thyroid issues, but nobody is ready to listen. We are reaching our homes by 2 am. They keep meetings at 10 pm,” he added. 

Meanwhile, a teacher assigned BLO duties in Gaur City, Greater Noida, claimed that, despite being admitted to a hospital due to a lung infection, she has not been granted medical leave. While she has been discharged now, the doctors have recommended heart surgery for a “leaky valve”. 

She alleged, “I have personally messaged SDM Ashutosh Gupta and other officials, but the Basic Shiksha Adhikari (BSA) told me that I can get the medical leave only when another teacher can take my place.”

“Even when I was admitted, my supervisor kept pressurising me to do this work. I have shared all my tests and reports with all supervisors, but my condition prevents me from doing this work. I am not even in the condition to go to school at this time,” she added.

Meanwhile, another supervisor claimed, “My name has been mentioned in the FIR by mistake. Somebody must have misheard the surname and instead put mine.”

On being asked about the pressure BLOs are facing, he claimed, “Things are much worse in Noida and Ghaziabad. If I scold the 10 BLOs under my supervision the same way those above me have scolded me, I am sure at least two of them will also consider drastic steps that some have taken (dying by suicide).”

Ramping up the pressure

While DM Medha Rupam was busy in meetings, we met SDM Ashutosh Gupta (Sadar) in Surajpur, Greater Noida, who is also the appointed electoral registration officer (ERO) in the area, and asked him about the FIRs.

“We have written in the FIR that work was not being done properly. If they do not do their election work properly, I will file more FIRs. We cannot tolerate any negligence. Today, the DM has recognised two BLOs for completing 100 percent of the work. If BLOs are not able to work, they should tell us why they are facing hurdles," said SDM Gupta.

On being asked if it is appropriate to file FIRs when BLOs are dying by suicide, he said, "Those who do not work will face action. If you sit at home and don't attend calls, what will happen? If there is any problem, we are sitting here for 24 hours.”

“Our motive is not to file FIRs, but to get the work done. The pressure is only for those who are slacking. If you don't know the work, then you will learn it. If you can't learn, then you will ask. I agree there is work pressure, but not so much that people take drastic steps,” he added. 

In contrast, another supervisor highlighted the difference in the facilities between the two sets of government employees, and said, “The government officials (SDMs and above) say that they have also been at it 24/7, but do they not realise that we do not have government cars or drivers or servants to help us? Women are also travelling on scooties, often late at night. Nobody is thinking about us, especially not in this district.”

FIRs filed for ‘serious negligence’

The Ghaziabad administration has also filed an FIR under Section 32 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, which penalises breaches of election-related duties with imprisonment of three months to two years and a fine. 

While such FIRs do not immediately put the accused at risk of arrest, they have caused much anxiety among contractual and deputed staff, who fear police calls, suspension, or administrative action.

Regarding the FIR registered in Ghaziabad, we spoke to the complainant, Deputy Tehsildar Alok Kumar Yadav, who said the FIR was filed only after repeated negligence. 

He said, “If on average the number of forms being collected is 250, and other BLOs collect five forms or 15 forms, then that is serious negligence. We have been asking them what their issues are and whether they require any technical help. Still, when the Assistant Electoral Registration Officer (AERO) or BLO supervisor visits the field, they are found to be at home. Then some punitive action or the other will be taken.”

Among those named in the FIR, there are Anganwadi workers, assistant teachers, electricity department staff, Nagar Nigam clerks, and others.

On being asked if there were any shortcomings in training, he said, “I don’t think so. If a junior engineer (JE) is given BLO duties, he must have done a B.Tech to get that government job. Even Anganwadi workers have collected 500 forms. It is a straightforward process. We have made videos on YouTube to simplify it.”

Although he admitted that the app “sometimes hangs,” Yadav noted that in his constituency, “if one BLO can digitise 100 forms, then another should be able to do so as well.” A key reason for lagging in the digitisation effort has been the technical glitches in the EC’s national mobile application.

More disciplinary action, termination notices

Newslaundry accessed two more government orders in Gautam Buddha Nagar highlighting punitive action against BLOs and supervisors.

In the first, the District Basic Education Officer (DBEO) issued an order warning several BLOs for extremely low progress (less than 5 percent) in voter list verification. The order questioned teachers who failed to complete crucial electoral duties and directed them to submit a written explanation by November 22 explaining why they should not face disciplinary action. This includes an annexure listing 95 BLOs flagged for non-performance.

The second order, issued by the DBEO, serves service termination notices to seven BLOs who achieved less than 5 percent completion of SIR duties despite “instructions and available time.” The notice accuses them of negligence in key electoral tasks and asks them to explain why their contracts should not be terminated under the Representation of the People Act, 1950, for failing to perform their assigned election duties. The annexure lists the seven BLOs facing possible termination.

Due to this pressure, government teachers are even resigning from their jobs.

One of the resignation letters Newslaundry accessed said: “While working as a BLO, the behaviour of people in the field and the attitude of officials in my own department has been extremely distressing, due to which I am mentally very troubled.”

We called another teacher from Gautam Buddha Nagar who had also resigned. She insisted that she had no complaints against anyone in her department. “They didn’t accept my resignation, so I am continuing to work. Nobody is putting pressure on me, and everyone from the supervisor to the district magistrate, is helping me. It’s my own lack of capability that led to my failure in performing my duties.”

While reiterating that “nobody is pressuring her”, she started crying and ended the call with, “I do not want to be disturbed anymore.”

Teachers’ association demands answers

Meanwhile, the Uttar Pradesh Prathmik Shiksha Sangh (UP Teachers’ Association) wrote a letter on November 24 to the District Magistrate, the State Election Commission, and the Chief Minister, highlighting the “mental harassment” teachers are facing due to the exercise and demanding that it be stopped.

Praveen Sharma, the Gautam Buddha Nagar district president of the association, said, “There has been no response or meeting from the administration regarding the letter we sent. BLOs have been assigned duties and they are carrying them out, but such pressure tactics are unacceptable. Across the district, no child care leave (CCL) is being approved, and BLOs aren’t being granted even a single day of medical leave.”

Speaking of the 1,800 teachers appointed as BLOs, the letter claimed, the teachers are being issued show-cause notices and even FIRs despite glitches on the mobile application, delays in receiving forms, and repeated OTP failures that make timely uploads impossible.

With December 4 as the deadline, BLOs have the mammoth task of distributing, collecting, verifying, and uploading enumeration forms for an average of 1,000 electors.

Amid such pressure and chaos, what becomes evident is the scope of human errors in cleaning the electoral rolls – the main purpose of this exercise.

Newslaundry sent a list of questions to the UP chief electoral officer's office. This report will be updated if a response is received.

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