The tragic death of Rinku Tarafdar, a Booth Level Officer (BLO) and para-teacher in West Bengal’s Nadia district, has cast a harsh spotlight on the mounting pressures faced by grassroots election workers during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Tarafdar was found dead at her residence in the Bangaljhi area of Chapra, Krishnanagar, on the morning of November 22, 2025. She was 51, according to some reports, and 52 or 53 according to others—a small but telling confusion in a story marked by chaos, heartbreak, and political confrontation.
Her death, ruled a suicide by police, is the third such case linked to SIR-related stress since the revision exercise began earlier this month. Tarafdar’s suicide note, recovered from her room by authorities, directly blamed the Election Commission of India (ECI) for her fate. "I can't handle the pressure," she wrote, as reported by The Economic Times. "The Election Commission is responsible for my fate. I do not support any political party. I am a very ordinary person. But I cannot bear the pressure of this inhuman work."
Tarafdar’s note went on to detail her struggle: she was a part-time teacher at Swami Vivekananda Vidya Mandir, earning a modest salary that did not match the effort required. She claimed to have completed 95% of the offline work for the SIR, but was unable to manage the online tasks. Despite informing the Block Development Office and her supervisor, she received no relief. "I want to live. My family lacks nothing. But for this modest job, they pushed me to such humiliation that I was left with no choice but to die," the note read, as cited by Hindustan Times and Millennium Post.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee responded with visible distress and anger. On her official X (formerly Twitter) account, she wrote, "Profoundly shocked to know of the death of yet another BLO, a lady para-teacher, who has committed suicide at Krishnanagar today. BLO of part number 201 of AC 82 Chapra, Smt Rinku Tarafdar, has blamed ECI in her suicide note before committing suicide at her residence today. How many more lives will be lost? How many more need to die for this SIR? How many more dead bodies shall we see for this process? This has become truly alarming now!!"
Banerjee’s post included an image of Tarafdar and a copy of her suicide note, amplifying the emotional charge of the moment. The Chief Minister had already written to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar two days earlier, urging an immediate halt to the SIR exercise. She called the process "chaotic, coercive and dangerous," alleging that it had been imposed "without basic preparedness," and citing "critical gaps in training" and confusion over mandatory documents. Banerjee warned that it was "near-impossible" for BLOs to meet voters amid their own livelihood struggles.
The controversy has quickly escalated into a political firestorm. The ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) has accused the ECI of acting under political pressure and favoring the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). A TMC delegation, including ministers Chandrima Bhattacharya and Aroop Biswas, met with the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer to submit a formal deputation. They alleged that "purposely, in every booth 150-200 names have been omitted" from the electoral rolls compared to 2002, and that as many as two crore names could be deleted. They also pointed to errors in EPIC card numbers and photographs, and claimed that the website was "full of mistakes."
BLO forums such as Votekarmi and BLO Aikya Mancha have written to the CEO, highlighting the "tremendous pressure due to miscommunication, workload and very slow Server connected with BLO App." The forums noted that the "Edit option" in the app had been withdrawn, making corrections even harder. "The server connected with BLO APP runs very slow when it needs to be very fast. At midnight it runs fast, while the whole day till 12 at night it remains very slow. The BLOs are facing excessive mental strain to complete their assigned work. Please address the server issues," the letter pleaded. They also called for compensation for the families of deceased and ailing BLOs.
The opposition BJP, meanwhile, has pushed back hard against the TMC’s narrative. Senior BJP leader Rahul Sinha dismissed the claims that SIR workload was responsible for Tarafdar’s death, suggesting that the suicide note might be fabricated. "This is absolutely meaningless. If the TMC leaders are brave enough, they should demand a CBI investigation into the death of the BLO. I can challenge them by saying that the suicide note is fake, just like the one we found in the Panihati case," Sinha told PTI. He even questioned whether Tarafdar was under pressure from TMC itself, raising the specter of political manipulation in the tragedy.
Union Home Minister Sukanta Majumdar also weighed in, but from a different angle, questioning Banerjee’s own responsibility for deaths and job losses allegedly caused by her policies. "How many people have died due to Mamata Banerjee and who lost their jobs? The way she has brought Bangladeshis and taken benefits of Lakshmir Bhandar, will she take responsibility?" Majumdar asked, as reported by The Economic Times.
State minister Ujjal Biswas visited Tarafdar’s residence to speak with her family, while the office of the Chief Electoral Officer has sought an immediate report from senior officials in Nadia district. "We need to understand whether the reported reason behind her death is correct or not," an official told Hindustan Times.
Tarafdar’s death is not an isolated incident. Since November 9, three BLOs have died—two by suicide and one from a cerebral attack—each case reportedly linked to the stress and pressure of the SIR exercise. Just two days before Tarafdar’s death, another BLO in Jalpaiguri district was found dead, her family also blaming unbearable SIR workload.
TMC spokesperson Arup Chakraborty argued that "the death of Nadia’s BLO once again proves how much pressure has been thrust upon the BLOs. Her suicide is an eye-opener, as she held the ECI responsible for her death." He added, "Chief Election Commissioner, Bengal CEO and Amit Shah must take the responsibility for the deaths. The deceased might not have known data entry and this cannot be her fault. Why will the ECI not deploy staff for data entry when it spends thousands of crores for carrying out elections?" TMC leader Mahua Moitra was even more direct, writing on X: "Mr Gyanesh Kumar, you are responsible for aiding & abetting the suicide of BLO Rinku Tarafdar, 52, who took her own life last night. In her suicide note she mentioned clearly that only the EC was responsible for her death."
The story of Rinku Tarafdar’s death has become a rallying point for debates over electoral integrity, the welfare of frontline workers, and the ever-present tensions between India’s major political parties. As investigations continue and public scrutiny intensifies, the fate of the SIR exercise—and the safety and dignity of those tasked with carrying it out—hangs in the balance.
