BLO on duty: On Duty Announced for 31 Consecutive Days for BLO Teachers, Here are the Details

BLO on duty: A piece of extremely important news has emerged for all the teachers appointed as Booth Level Officers (BLOs). According to a new circular from the Election Commission, BLOs will be considered “on duty” for a continuous period of one month for the upcoming voter list revision work. This circular, published yesterday on 30th October 2025, comes as a major relief for BLO teachers, as they will not be required to attend school during this period.

Key Details of the Notification

The Election Commission of India issued the guideline for the Special Summary Revision (SSR) 2026 on 27th October 2025, for a total of 12 states including West Bengal. As per this guideline, the enumeration or house-to-house survey work will be conducted for one month, from 4th November 2025 to 4th December 2025. During this time, BLOs have been tasked with visiting every household to fill out voter list-related forms.

Nature of Work and Challenges

This month-long task is quite time-consuming and challenging. According to Election Commission rules, if a voter is not found at home, the BLO may have to visit their residence up to three times. A single booth typically has around 1100 to 1200 voters. Naturally, it is nearly impossible to carry out this extensive work while continuing with regular school teaching duties. This was a source of underlying concern among the teachers assigned as BLOs.

The Historic “On Duty” Declaration

The last two lines of the published circular clearly state that all BLOs will be granted “on duty” status for the entire duration of this enumeration phase. This means that for the 31 days from 4th November to 4th December, they will not have to report to their school duties and will be fully engaged in election-related work.

Although this particular notification was published by the Electoral Registration Officer of the 118 Kamarhati Assembly Constituency, it is part of a general directive from the Election Commission. Therefore, it is believed that this rule will be applicable to all BLOs across the state.

Conflict with Examination and Other Duties

The period allocated for this work coincides with crucial academic activities in the state’s primary schools, such as the Third Summative Examination, evaluation of answer scripts, and publication of results. In many schools where multiple teachers are assigned BLO duties, conducting classes poses a significant challenge. This “on duty” declaration is expected to resolve much of that problem. However, teachers will rejoin their schools after 4th December and will have sufficient time to complete the remaining academic tasks. The concerned authorities have been urged to manage this entire process smoothly.