BLO On Duty: Decision Reversed in a Day! ‘On Duty’ Benefit for BLOs Withdrawn, Confusion Over New Directive?

BLO On Duty: A significant confusion has arisen surrounding a crucial directive for Booth Level Officers (BLOs) in the Kamarhati assembly constituency of West Bengal. Within just 24 hours, a previous order has been withdrawn and a new notification issued, which reportedly cancels a major benefit for the BLOs. This development has caused considerable unrest among the concerned employees.

Yesterday, on October 30, 2025, the Electoral Registration Officer of the 112-Kamarhati Assembly Constituency issued a notification. It clearly stated that for the purpose of voter list enumeration, BLOs would have to conduct house-to-house form-filling work for the next 31 days. For this important task, they were to be considered ‘On Duty’. This announcement brought a sense of relief among the BLOs, as ‘On Duty’ status means their absence from their primary department would not be counted against them during this period.

Directive Withdrawn Within 24 Hours

Surprisingly, today, on October 31, 2025, the previous day’s notification has been completely withdrawn. A revised notification has been issued stating that as per the Election Commission’s directive dated October 27, 2025, the enumeration work for the Special Summary Revision (SSR) will commence from November 4, 2025. All BLOs have been directed to remain engaged in this work.

What Does the New Directive Say?

While the main text of this new notification remains largely the same, the most critical part has been omitted. The last paragraph of the notification states, “Therefore, all BLOs are instructed to actively participate and carry out their assigned duty sincerely during the said period.” In other words, all BLOs have been asked to participate actively and perform their duties with sincerity during this specific period.

However, the most noticeable change is the complete absence of the ‘On Duty’ benefit, which was explicitly mentioned in yesterday’s circular. The revised notification, while instructing BLOs to work sincerely, is silent on whether they will receive ‘On Duty’ status for their efforts. This silence has become the root cause of confusion and resentment. It is being perceived by the employees that the ‘On Duty’ benefit has been effectively withdrawn. Only time will tell what impact this sudden change will have on the performance of duties by the BLOs.