'Under Pressure Due to S.I.R': A Look at Suicides of BLOs Across 6 States

(Photo: The Quint)

(Warning: This article mentions suicide. If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, please reach out for help. You can contact local emergency services, helplines, or mental-health NGOs.)

“She would say that the pressure of BLO work had become so much that she couldn’t handle anything. She didn’t get help from anywhere and she broke down from within. In the morning, we thought she was cooking, but when we went to see her, she was found hanging,” recalled Soko Ekka, whose wife, Shantimani Ekka, died by suicide on 19 November.

Shantimani, 51, lived in Malbazar, West Bengal. An Anganwadi worker by profession, she had also been given additional responsibilities as a Booth Level Officer (BLO). Her family says that during the Election Commission’s ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR), she was single-handedly managing the workload of the entire booth.

According to them, the mounting pressure — long hours, the responsibility of correcting faulty forms, and the absence of support from officials — left her mentally exhausted.

Her death is not an isolated incident. Over the past few weeks, at least six BLOs in Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and West Bengal have allegedly died by suicide. Those familiar with the process say the mental pressure associated with the Election Commission’s SIR has grown sharply across states.

In Uttar Pradesh, the strain has taken a different shape: several BLOs involved in the SIR exercise have had FIRs filed against them for failing to meet targets.

Taken together, these cases point to a troubling pattern emerging across states.

West Bengal

Shantimani was assigned the role of BLO in 2024, and since then she had been troubled. Her difficulties increased during the SIR. Troubled by the workload, one day she even went to resign, but the officers clearly told her that once the name is assigned, she cannot be removed.

—Soko Ekka, husband of deceased Shantimani

Shantimani was the BLO for Booth No. 20/101 of Rangmati Gram Panchayat. The Election Commission has sought a report on the matter from the District Magistrate of Jalpaiguri.

Speaking to The Quint, Malbazar Police Station said that a case of unnatural death has been registered, and the police are investigating the incident.

On 22 November, Rinku Tarfadar, another BLO from Nadia district, also allegedly died by suicide.

According to the police, a suicide note recovered from her blamed the Election Commission for her death. In the note, Rinku wrote that she had completed 95% of the offline work, but did not understand the online process, and despite seeking help from her supervisor, she did not receive assistance.

Rinku’s husband, Asim Tarfadar, alleges that she had completed distributing and collecting the forms, but that her lack of knowledge of digital uploading, constant work pressure, and stress from supervision broke her down. Asim further claimed that this was not suicide, but “murder by the Commission.”

Rajasthan

In Jaipur, Rajasthan, a 36-year-old government school teacher died by suicide on 16 November. He was also serving as a BLO in the Jhotwara area.

Police identified the deceased as Mukesh Kumar Jangid, a resident of Kalwad village and posted in a government school. According to officials, Mukesh died after jumping in front of a moving train.

“A slip was found in his pocket. It said that the heavy pressure of SIR work, and a senior officer constantly assigning extra workload and threatening suspension, were the major reasons for his suffering.”

—Gajanand, brother of deceased Mukesh

Bindayaka SHO Vinod Verma told The Quint that a slip was found in Mukesh’s pocket and, based on the family’s allegations, a marg report (a preliminary report filed in cases of suspicious deaths) has been registered. He said, “We’ve also been informed that the family was going through some personal distress as well. For now, we are investigating the matter.”

Gujarat

In Gujarat, a BLO allegedly died by suicide on 21 November due to SIR-related work pressure. Before his death, the primary school teacher allegedly wrote a suicide note stating that he had been feeling mentally stressed and exhausted because of BLO duties.

Arvind Mulji Vadher (40), a resident of Devli village in Gir-Somnath district, worked as a primary school teacher.

Police said Arvind died by hanging himself at his home in the morning.

Arvind’s brother said, “A suicide note was found in his pocket, in which he clearly wrote: ‘I am committing suicide because of SIR work pressure.’”

He added that Arvind had been in deep depression for the past few days. “Completing 95% of the target by the 23rd was almost impossible for us. We talked for 15 minutes last night as well, and he expressed the same concern.”

In the alleged note, Arvind addressed his wife and son, writing: “I can no longer do SIR work. For the past few days I have been continuously feeling exhausted and mentally stressed. Take care of yourselves. I love you both very much, but now I have no option left except this final step.”

Gir-Somnath Collector N.V. Upadhyay told The Quint that Arvind had not communicated his distress to anyone. He said Arvind’s Phase-1 work was 43% complete and that he had been helping others as well. On the night of the incident, Arvind had worked diligently, and no notice had been issued to him, the Collector added. He said a fair review of the circumstances can only be undertaken after the police report.

Kerala

In Kerala’s Kannur district, on 16 November, a BLO allegedly died by suicide due to work-related pressure. Aneesh George, 44, was posted at Booth 18 of the Payyannur Assembly constituency. He also worked as an office assistant at an aided pre-primary school. He was found dead at home on Sunday.

According to family members and neighbours, Aneesh had been under pressure due to BLO work in recent days and had been struggling to distribute forms across several households.

Neighbour Shiju V.K. said Aneesh took his family to church on Sunday morning and, after returning home, “took the step”. According to Shiju, Aneesh sometimes got confused when identifying some houses, but was trying to complete the job with people’s help.

After the incident, the Peringom police registered a case of unnatural death. Police said Aneesh died by hanging himself in the hall on the upper floor of the house.

District Collector Arun K. Vijayan, based on preliminary inquiries, said that so far there is no clear indication that the death was due to work pressure.

Madhya Pradesh

In the primary school at Salona B village in Datia district, Madhya Pradesh, 50-year-old teacher Udaybhan Sihare died by suicide on 10 November by hanging himself in the washroom.

He had recently been assigned additional duties as a BLO.

Udaybhan’s brother, Dharmendra Sihare, said he had difficulty using a mobile phone or riding a bike, yet was tasked with additional SIR and survey duties. His stress, according to the family, had increased after his BLO responsibilities began, and he had spoken several times about wanting to be relieved.

Uttar Pradesh

During the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) campaign for the voter list in Uttar Pradesh, hundreds of BLOs across multiple districts have faced action, including FIRs, salary stoppages, and disciplinary notices. BLOs say that a lack of staff, heavy responsibilities, and disorganised work procedures have made the job extremely stressful.

In Bulandshahr’s Sikandrabad constituency, the administration filed FIRs against six BLOs for repeated negligence during SIR. The administration considered the lapses a violation of Section 32 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950.

Mukesh Yadav told The Quint that due to staff shortages at school and family obligations, he had been unable to complete his BLO duties. He said he informed the SDM in writing beforehand, but an FIR for negligence was filed regardless.

According to the Election Commission order dated 27 October, the SIR exercise began in nine states and three Union Territories. BLOs have to visit each household, distribute voter numeration forms, collect them, and upload them on the app/ECINet. For missing forms, they must record the reasons. The deadline is 4 December, and the draft roll will be released on 9 December. Meanwhile, BLOs must continue with their regular duties, increasing the pressure further.

According to the Election Commission, as of 21 November 2025, in SIR Phase II, out of 50,97,44,423 voters, forms have been distributed to 50,43,01,458 voters—about 98.93%. Meanwhile, a total of 13,64,42,428 forms have been digitised—about 26.77%.

Other Deaths

During the SIR process, several BLO deaths across multiple states have raised serious questions. Families allege that the heavy workload, long travel, and sustained pressure have harmed the health of officials tasked with the exercise. Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and West Bengal have seen deaths attributed to heart attacks, brain strokes, and stress.

• On 20 November, in Kheda, Gujarat, Principal and BLO Rameshbhai Parmar died of a heart attack.

• On 19 November, in Jhabua, Madhya Pradesh, BLO Bhuvan Singh Chauhan died suddenly after falling ill; he had been suspended a day earlier, on 18 November.

• On 19 November, in Sawai Madhopur, Rajasthan, BLO Hariom Bairwa (34) died of a heart attack minutes after a phone call with an official.

• On 9 November, in East Burdwan, West Bengal, a woman BLO, Namita Hansda, died of a brain stroke. Her husband claimed she had been under severe stress due to SIR work pressure.

• On 22 November, in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, BLO and Shiksha Mitra Vijay Kumar Verma died of a brain stroke. His wife alleged that SIR workload caused his health to deteriorate, though the administration has denied this.

• On 21 November, two BLOs—Ramakant Pandey and Sitaram Gond—died in Raisen and Damoh in Madhya Pradesh.