BLOs continue to distribute voter slips past deadline

Kolkata: Even after the April 24 deadline ended, many booth-level officers (BLOs) across the city are continuing with distribution of voter slips among electors in their respective parts. While some of them completed the task by Saturday evening, others are keeping their fingers crossed to end the distribution by Sunday, 72 hours before the city goes to poll in the second phase.

However, carrying voter slips is not mandatory for electors heading to polling stations, according to EC officials. But many people are desperately looking for its receipt out of anxiety, being under the impression that they would not be let into the polling station without producing the slip.



"I was to distribute about 500 voter slips since last Tuesday, and I adopted a 100 slips per day strategy. I did not get any leave from office for this work, and I had to manage time out of my work schedule and bear with the scorching heat for door-to-door visits. I missed the deadline, and anxious electors kept calling me. Today I started the work early as my office was closed and finished the work. Had the slips come to us a few days earlier, it would have become easier for us to work in keeping with the deadline," said a BLO from south Kolkata.

Another BLO from Behala East, who is left with about 25 slips for distribution, said that availability of electors at home threw up a challenge for his distribution of voter slips. "The EC's circular clearly mentions that we are supposed to hand over the slips to respective electors or their family members. Some electors are voters in this constituency, but they live elsewhere. I called them up, but they have not come and collected it. Tomorrow being Sunday, I hope to meet those electors and give them the slips," said the BLO.

Some electors rued that they have been asked by their BLOs to collect the slips. Survey Park resident Sudipta Bhattacharya said, "As I called my BLO asking for the slip, she asked me to come and collect it from her. She even told the same to my octogenarian neighbour. Finally, I had to visit her home and collect both the slips."
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