Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], November 21 (ANI): The Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari has alleged that Booth Level Officers (BLOs) were being pressured by District Magistrates (DMs) to hand over their official OTPs, thereby undermining the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in the state.

In a post on X, Adhikari accused District Magistrates (DMs) in the state of siding with the TMC Party.

He alleged that District Magistrates in several districts are putting 'PRESSURE' on the Booth Level Officers (BLOs).

'The mask is off !!! The 'Unholy Nexus' between the TMC Party and West Bengal Administration is exposed. District Magistrates (DMs) concurrently designated as the District Election Officers (DEOs), as because they simultaneously fulfill the electoral responsibilities assigned by the ECI, seem to have shed their neutrality and sided with the corrupt TMC Party,' Adhikari wrote on X.

'In Purba Medinipur, Hooghly, Purba Bardhaman and several other districts, District Magistrates are acting as full-time TMC election agents. They are putting UNBEARABLE PRESSURE on the Booth Level Officers (BLOs) by threatening transfers, suspension, salary cuts and forcing them to hand over their official OTPs to themselves or individuals who are TMC-controlled Data Entry Operators so that they can misuse the BLO App and ultimately dilute the electoral rolls which is being cleansed through the SIR exercise,' he added.

Amid the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has started preparing for the 2026 legislative assembly in the state, with the poll body set to start the Electronic Voting Machine checking exercise and voting rehearsals exercise on Friday.

Deputy Election Commissioner Gyanesh Bharti led a meeting in Kolkata with multiple First Level Checking (FLC) team members where they discussed the ongoing SIR, preparations of ensuring stock of EVM and VVPAT, among other things. According to ECI officials, the state EC has all the stock of the machines. (ANI)