Midnight clash outside Bengal CEO office as BJP workers, BLO forum confront each other

Kolkata: High drama unfolded as a group of BJP activists came face to face with protesting members of a booth-level officers' forum in front of the West Bengal CEO's office here around midnight, while a police force stood as a barrier between the two groups, a senior officer said on Tuesday.

Several members of the BLO Adhikar Raksha Committee were on a sit-in outside the CEO's office since the afternoon hours on Monday, alleging “excessive work pressure” and “unmanageable workload” during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Matters came to a head when around 50 BJP activists led by KMC Councillor Sajal Ghosh arrived at the spot at 11 pm, shouting slogans against TMC's alleged bid to stall the SIR exercise by intimidating the Election Commission officials who were confined in the CEO's office.

The situation turned volatile when the protesting BLOs raised counter-slogans, accusing the BJP of working in "collusion with the Election Commission to delete names of genuine voters in West Bengal".

They also alleged that the BJP activists were "trying to terrorise and provoke the peacefully demonstrating BLOs who only wanted an audience with the CEO".

"The protesters are not BLOs. They are leaders of TMC-backed organisations," Ghosh claimed.

The BLO forum members dismissed the allegation.

As the two groups traded barbs in front of mediapersons, a strong police force led by DC Central Indira Mukherjee stood between the warring sides to soothe frayed tempers.

West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal - who was confined due to the sit-in by the BLOs - left his office around 11.40 pm.

He refused to comment on the late-night development, but tension subsided as he and other EC officials were escorted by the police to their residences.

Ghosh and his party men announced that they would leave the place as the CEO and others boarded vehicles in the presence of the police.

"As asked by our top leadership, we are now leaving the area. Our immediate objective was to see that the CEO and other officials are not harassed by the Trinamool Congress. Since they have managed to leave, we don't wish to stay back here any more. The TMC got a befitting reply to its sinister campaign to harass the CEO," Ghosh said.

Earlier, members of the booth-level officers' platform engaged in altercations with the police while attempting to enter the Chief Electoral Officer’s (CEO) office here during a demonstration.

The BLO protesters went on a march from College Square to the CEO's office in central Kolkata on Monday afternoon.

At least three BLOs in West Bengal have died by suicide over alleged inhuman work pressure during the door-to-door enumeration form distribution and collection process.