Senior CPI(M) leader MV Jayarajan from Kannur questioned the arbitrary deadline being imposed on BLOs since the local body elections is under way and the Assembly elections are still nearly six months away.
Published Nov 16, 2025 | 7:16 PM ⚊ Updated Nov 16, 2025 | 7:52 PM
Aneesh George
Synopsis: The death by suicide of a 41-year-old Booth Level Officer on Sunday, shortly after working through the night to meet targets for the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Kerala, has triggered sharp criticism of the process and of the arbitrary deadlines imposed on enumerators, which workers say place immense pressure on them. Thousands of BLOs are boycotting work on Monday, while the district administration has denied that the death was linked to pressure to meet these deadlines.
It has been a little over ten days since the state election commission in Kerala began the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in preparation for the Assembly elections early next year.
Forty-one-year-old school attendant Aneesh George was among the thousands of Booth Level Officers (BLOs) across the state tasked with carrying out the gargantuan exercise to completion in a little under one month.
He had worked throughout Saturday, 15 November and well past 2 am on Sunday, pushing himself to complete the enumeration forms. Hours later, he was found hanging in his home in Ettukudukka, near Payyannur in Kannur.
There was no suicide note. But his grieving mother told Ettukudukka ward member Bindumol KG that he had been struggling intensely with mandatory house visits. “She hugged me and cried, saying he was exhausted by the workload,” Bindumol told South First.
Aneesh leaves behind his wife, three school-going children—two daughters and a son—and his retired schoolteacher parents, George Tharayil and Gracy George.
The death has evoked sharp responses from the state’s political fronts, barring the BJP, questioning the urgency with which the revision process is being conducted and the intense pressure it is placing on enumerators.
BLOs across the state are also boycotting work on Monday, with about 35,000 officers expected to join. A march to the Chief Electoral Officer’s office is also planned.
Kerala may be debating work-life balance and even a ‘Right to Disconnect Bill’ that promises private-sector employees the freedom to switch off after work. But for many on the ground, especially those like BLOs, these protections remain words on paper.
“The pressure is unbearable” Sreejith Irakkavu, a fellow BLO from Pathanamthitta told South First, struggling to steady his voice.
“We were told to finish distributing the enumeration forms by the 25th. But district-level officers keep insisting we complete it immediately. Every house takes at least 20 minutes. Some people ask questions, some need help filling the forms. I distribute forms in the morning and go back again in the evening to collect them. How can anyone finish this overnight?”
For women BLOs, Sreejith said, the stress is multiplied. “Many won’t go alone. They take their husband, brother, or even their children because they’re scared to go into remote homes. They don’t even have their own vehicle, most depend on autos or someone else to drop them” he said.
Even basic support is uncertain. “During our first briefing, they said we will get travel allowance. Now there’s no update. We’re paying from our pockets,” he added. And all this is not their only job.
“I work in a school like Aneesh. SSLC exam work is starting. I can’t skip that. We’re doing two full-time jobs at once,” Sreejith explained.
Many people, he added, do not realise the difference between the SIR and the ongoing local body polls processes.
“We have to explain the whole thing at every house. It takes time,” he said. Some BLOs, Sreejith pointed out, are assigned 700 to 1,000 households, while others have far fewer, yet completion percentages are compared as if all workloads were equal.
Senior CPI(M) leader MV Jayarajan from Kannur questioned the arbitrary deadline being imposed on BLOs since the local body elections is under way and the Assembly elections are still nearly six months away. Of the 2.5 lakh staff deployed for local body poll duties, 35,000 have been diverted for the SIR.
“One person is being asked to do two full-time jobs. This is the reality behind SIR,” Jayarajan told the media.
He added that at Saturday’s all-party meeting, everyone except the BJP urged the Chief Electoral Officer to postpone the revision work until after the local body elections.
“In light of Aneesh’s death, this must be done immediately so no other employee reaches this breaking point” he said.
Kannur District Collector Arun K Vijayan said his preliminary enquiries did not indicate direct pressure on Aneesh.
He noted that the Electoral Registration Officer, Assistant Electoral Registration Officer and supervisors had not set any targets or called him repeatedly, and that the only communication was with the Village Field Assistant who had offered help.
According to the collector, Aneesh had completed 77 percent of the enumeration form distribution, this matched the average pace in his area, and the wider Payyannur segment had reached 90 percent.
But BLOs across districts contest this narrative. As Sreejith pointed out, the deadlines handed out verbally, the constant nudging from district units, and the sheer physical and emotional load of visiting hundreds of homes are pressures not visible on official paper.
Chief Electoral Officer Rathan U Kelkar has requested a detailed report on Aneesh’s death. Kelkar recently stated that 85 percent of forms have already been distributed statewide and urged that BLOs be assisted in completing the remaining work.
Yet, those on the ground insist the issue is not the numbers, but the human cost.
“Aneesh’s death has shaken all of us. Because every one of us knows this could happen to anyone,” Sreejith said. “This is not work you can finish in days. To do it properly, we need at least three months. But everyone wants instant results.”
He worries for his colleagues, especially those handling massive workloads across difficult terrain.
“We are human too. We are doing our best. But the pressure is too much. Someone has already died. How many more?” he asked.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
