Murshidabad, West Bengal | February 7, 2026 – A 58-year-old Booth Level Officer (BLO) died of a sudden cardiac arrest in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district on Friday, reigniting a fierce debate over the grueling workload of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The deceased, identified as Maya Mukhopadhyay (Mukherjee), was an assistant teacher at the Shripur Namupada Shishu Shiksha Kendra. She was assigned BLO duties for Booth No. 251 in the Hariharpara Assembly segment. Her family alleges that the relentless pressure to complete voter list verification ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections cost her her life.
“She Was Terrified”: Son Recounts Final Hours
According to her son, Rubel Mondal, Maya collapsed at her residence around 3:00 AM on Friday after complaining of severe chest pain. She was rushed to the Hariharpara Block Hospital, where doctors declared her dead on arrival.
Mondal alleged that his mother had been under immense mental stress for weeks. “My mother was physically unfit for this pressure. She had age-related ailments and was even admitted to the ICU in December, but she was forced to resume work,” he told reporters.
He further highlighted the digital burden placed on senior staff: “She struggled with the computer-related tasks of the SIR. She repeatedly sought exemption from the administration, but her appeals were ignored. She lived in constant fear that if names were deleted from the list, villagers would attack our house.”
Political Slugfest: TMC vs. BJP
The death has triggered a fresh political storm in West Bengal, with the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the BJP trading barbs over the human cost of the SIR exercise.
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TMC’s Stance: Local TMC MLA Niyamat Sheikh alleged that the Election Commission’s “unplanned” and “hasty” implementation of the SIR has created a climate of panic among grassroots workers. The TMC has previously claimed that over 100 people have died due to SIR-related stress across the state.
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BJP’s Counter: The BJP has dismissed these claims, accusing the TMC of politicizing a natural death. BJP district leader Laltu Das argued that the pressure on BLOs often comes from the ruling party itself, alleging that workers are being coerced to retain names of “illegal migrants” and “deceased voters.”
The Rising Toll of SIR in Bengal
Maya Mukhopadhyay’s death is not an isolated incident. In January alone, multiple BLO deaths were reported in Murshidabad and South 24 Parganas, including the suspected suicide of Hamimul Islam, a teacher found dead inside a school.
The Special Intensive Revision, which aims to produce an error-free voter list, has seen its timeline compressed significantly. What traditionally took much longer is being rushed into a few months, leaving thousands of teachers and ICDS workers struggling to balance their primary jobs with door-to-door verification and digital mapping.
Hariharpara BDO Sering Jam Bhutia confirmed the death and stated that the administration is gathering details. As the February 14 deadline for the final electoral roll publication nears, the outcry for better working conditions and mental health support for BLOs continues to grow.
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