Call it SIR deaths or deaths due to workload and coercive pressure. Death is death. It shatters and changes the dynamics of a family that would take years and years for them to cope. The long-term impact on these families can lead to financial instability, emotional distress, and an overall diminished quality of life. In the face of a massive exercise across states by the Election Commission of India, known as the Special Intensive Revision or SIR reportedly over a dozen Booth-Level Officers (BLOs) involved in the voter roll revision have died by suicide and others due to heart attacks or accidents during duty.
In Bihar alone around 78 thousand BLOs were deployed to carry out SIR. The number is huge and so is the workload. BLOs are appointed from staff working in government schools, offices, and other local bodies who are tasked to prepare accurate, error-free electoral roll, record, verify and update voter details, provide forms for adding, deleting, or correcting voter entries, register eligible citizens and to carry out physical checks and submit reports to the Electoral Registration Officer as well as to identify dead, shifted, or duplicate voters to be removed after the process. This makes their work strenuous.
A heartbreaking video of a 46-year-old BLO in Uttar Pradesh crying, who died by suicide after reportedly, struggling with intense work pressure, has moved citizens to the core. In a note he left behind, he said he was “unable to cope” with the burden of BLO duties. In another incident, a 42-year-old BLO involved in the SIR exercise collapsed at his home in Rajasthan’s Dholpur on November 29 and later died. Police said he had collapsed while uploading voter data late at night. His family alleged that he had been working under extreme pressure.
In its bid to complete SIR that seeks to ensure accurate, fraud-free elections through comprehensive voter validation, the ECI seems to have exerted pressure on BLOs to complete it’s laid down task. Psychologists often differentiate between positive stress, known as eustress, and negative stress, referred to as distress. Eustress can motivate individuals to perform better, leading to enhanced focus and improved performance. Distress can lead to anxiety, burnout, and a range of mental health issues. For BLOs, the nature of their work—often characterized by tight deadlines and public scrutiny—can tip the balance towards negative stress. It is important for India to address accumulated errors and omissions affecting election integrity but at the same time reinforce positive pressure on those being involved to take up the task.
The ECI tried to pull out a positive affirmation when it posted a video of a dancing BLO in Kerala meant to “inject energy and fun into the revision exercise”. This however, didn’t sit well with many, who slammed the constitutional body as tone-deaf and insensitive at a time when BLOs are dying. It was not just bad timing but a display of superficial positivity. Stress relief is crucial both before and during work, not just at one specific time. The ECI could have done enough to ensure support systems for frontline electoral staff when it began its exercise from Bihar. Before the exercise began, BLOs were equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills for the exercise but not on how to cope with stress and mental health that SIR demands.
As individuals continue to work tirelessly, it is vital to acknowledge the human cost of excessive workload pressures and seek sustainable solutions that prioritise the well-being of BLOs who juggle two jobs.
