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Kolkata, Oct 25 (IANS) Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Suvendu Adhikari on Saturday cautioned the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) against including the names of Trinamool Congress functionaries in the list of Booth Level Officers (BLOs).
As an example, the leader of the opposition, while cautioning the ECI and the CEO office, highlighted a particular case where a party functionary of Trinamool Congress has been selected as BLO in South 24 Parganas.
As per the information given by the Leader of Opposition, the concerned BLO is Mohammad Alauddin Mollah and his name is in the list of BLOs for Diamond Harbor constituency in South 24 Paragans.
The official said that the same man is one of the regional presidents of the ruling party, and his wife Liala Bibi is an elected Trinamool Congress Panchayat member from Block No. 2 of Diamond Harbour.
Expressing apprehension that there may be more such cases of inclusion of Trinamool Congress officials in the BLO list, the opposition leader had requested the CEO, West Bengal to identify and remove all politically connected persons who have been appointed as BLOs to work in favor of the ruling party.
The official also warned that if such politically affiliated persons continue to remain in the voter list, there is every possibility that they may manipulate the electoral process.
The selection of BLO in West Bengal has been in controversy since the beginning. Firstly, the allegation was that contractual state government employees and para-teachers were included as BLOs, bypassing the ECI order that permanent state government employees and permanent teachers attached to state-run schools should be considered for selection as BLOs.
There were also complaints of irregularities in the selection of Electoral Registration Officers (EROs). While the Commission has ordered that only West Bengal Civil Service (WBCS) cadre officers in the ranks of Sub-Divisional Officers or Sub-Divisional Magistrates or Rural Development Officers will be selected as EROs, there were allegations that officers below such ranks were included in the list of EROs.
–IANS
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