What challenges are Booth Level Officers (BLOs) facing in Kerala's voter enumeration process?

BLOs in Kerala are overwhelmed by their expanding duties, with many having to distribute over 500 forms and struggling to assist voters who are often unaware of the ongoing Special Summary Revision (SIR) process.

How are BLOs managing their regular jobs alongside the voter enumeration work?

Many BLOs, such as Anganwadi workers and school clerks, are finding it difficult to balance their regular jobs with the additional responsibilities of the voter enumeration process, often having to work late into the evenings.

What issues are BLOs facing in verifying voter details?

BLOs have encountered challenges in tracing voters who have changed their names or residences over the past two decades, with some unable to locate certain voters at all due to the lack of updated records.

Home / Education / Grassroots Election Workers Overwhelmed by Expanding Duties and Lack of Resources

Grassroots Election Workers Overwhelmed by Expanding Duties and Lack of Resources

15 Nov

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Summary

BLOs (Booth Level Officers) face exhausting schedules, distributing up to 500 forms
Voters unaware of the ongoing Special Summary Revision (SIR) process
BLOs struggle to assist voters, often visiting households multiple times

Grassroots Election Workers Overwhelmed by Expanding Duties and Lack of Resources

As of November 15, 2025, the voter enumeration process in Kerala has been a significant challenge for the Booth Level Officers (BLOs) tasked with its implementation. BLOs, who represent the Election Commission of India at the grassroots level, are responsible for ensuring a free and transparent election process. However, they are currently facing an exhausting schedule and expanding duties that are making it difficult to complete the work within the stipulated time.

Many BLOs have reported having over 500 forms left to distribute, which is nearly half of their total workload. They can only manage to distribute around 70-80 forms per day, with some managing to distribute up to 100 forms in a single day. The process has been further complicated by the fact that the BLOs were initially instructed to fill out the forms for the voters, which took a significant amount of time. Now, they have been told to only distribute the forms, but this has not made the process any easier.