WB Elections 2026: 79,000 BLOs appointed, BJP raises objection over temporary staff in Malda

Kolkata: West Bengal-CEO's office has completed appointment of 79,000 Booth Level Officers (BLOs) in West Bengal, ahead of WB-CEO Manoj Agarwal's visit to New Delhi for the ECI meeting of CEOs on September 10, people in the know said.

Meanwhile, West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Agarwal has sought a report from District Magistrate of Malda district after BJP has alleged that in Malda, despite availability of permanent government employees, the administration has appointed casual workers as BLOs. The party has submitted a detailed list of 61 permanent employees in 61 posts.

WB-CEO Manoj Agarwal has sent the matter to the District Magistrate of Malda. A report has been sought by the CEO on this.


BJP, in a recent all-party meeting, had raised objections that more than 40% BLOs were being recruited from temporary posts when the state government has five times more government officials in permanent posts.

The last date of acceptance of objections from the political parties by West Bengal Chief Electoral officer’s (WB-CEO’s) office on booth bifurcation issue was till September 8. All major political parties expressed their disgruntlement over booth bifurcation in the state during the all-party meeting called by WB-CEO Manoj Agarwal on Friday to discuss the proposed reorganisation of polling stations during the coming assembly polls.

A high-level meeting was convened by EC officials on Monday with Assistant District Magistrates (ADMs), organising commissioners (OC) (Election) and Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) to review preparedness. The officials are likely to give feedback on the existing number of voters, number of booths, booth rationalisation and data from the 2002 SIR for their respective districts and assemblies.

The state is likely to get nearly 13,816 additional polling booths for the 2026 polls, up from the 87,681 at present. However, it is subject to ECI’s approval, sources said.