EC likely to appoint volunteers for SIR in Bengal: Official

The Election Commission of India ( ECI) may appoint volunteers to assist booth-level officers ( BLOs) during the probable special intensive revision ( SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal, a senior official said on Sunday.

The volunteers are likely to be drawn from among government employees in each block for the exercise that may be launched soon, he said.

"This is at the planning stage... These assistants will help the BLOs fill out enumeration forms and may also be deployed as substitutes, if required," the official told PTI.

The volunteers will primarily be assigned to polling stations having more than 1,200 voters, he added.

"As a result of this cap on the number of voters per booth, the number of polling booths in the state is likely to increase by around 14,000, from the existing 80,000 to around 94,000," the official said.

For the exercise, the block development officers (BDOs) in several districts have written to school inspectors seeking lists of permanent teachers, clerks, and other government staffers who can be assigned as volunteers, he said, adding that the lists, with contact details, are to be submitted by October 29.

Asked what their allowance would be, the official said that the poll body was yet to finalise it.