As SIR gathers pace, voters in Hyderabad take initiative to reach BLOs

Even as several electors say they are still waiting to receive enumeration forms and visits by Booth Level Officers (BLOs), fellow residents in the same localities have taken the initiative to contact BLOs directly and coordinate visits.

“There is no point waiting for the BLO. It is better to get the BLO’s contact details from the CEO website and ask when they are likely to visit. We did this for our family. The BLO was in the next lane, so I met him and coordinated. He came the next day and distributed the forms,” said Abdul Qader, a resident of Jubilee Hills in the Khairatabad Assembly constituency.

Mr. Qader, who works in the IT sector, said his family WhatsApp group has been flooded with queries, updates and advisories on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process, with relatives across constituencies making efforts to contact their respective BLOs.

A similar approach has been adopted in other parts of the Khairatabad constituency, where activists, Booth Level Agents and residents have been sharing BLO contact details to facilitate the distribution of forms.

“There are around 40 electors in 10 houses here, so it made sense for the forms to be distributed in one visit. One of us contacted the BLO and ensured he visited every house,” said Ahmed Imam, a resident of Banjara Hills. “Now that we have interacted with the BLO, it will also be easier to reach out to him if we have any doubts.”

However, residents familiar with the exercise said the overall pace of form distribution remains slow. “The situation is actually better in bastis than in many colonies. BLOs are yet to visit several areas. Many are inadequately trained and not proactive enough. There needs to be continuous monitoring, even by residents, to ensure they visit on time and assist electors, many of whom are still unaware of the process,” said Asif Hussain Sohail, an office-bearer of a residents’ collective in the Jubilee Hills Assembly constituency.

Recently, Majlis Bachao Tehreek spokesperson Amjed Ullah Khan had stressed that BLOs must visit every elector’s home, as required under the rules, and remain accessible to the public without coming under political influence.

Meanwhile, Additional Chief Electoral Officer Vasam Venkateswara Reddy and Electoral Registration Officers inspected polling stations in the Karwan and Charminar Assembly constituencies. During the visit, Mr. Reddy directed BLOs to visit every household, distribute enumeration forms and assist voters in filling them.