In the heart of West Bengal, a series of tragedies have sparked a fierce debate over the pressures faced by government employees tasked with updating the electoral rolls. The recent suicides of two booth-level officers (BLOs), both women, have thrust the Election Commission’s (EC) Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise into the spotlight, raising troubling questions about the human cost of bureaucratic urgency and digital transformation.
On the night of November 21, 2025, Rinku Tarafdar, a 51-year-old para-teacher and BLO from Nadia district, was found hanging at her home. Her death marked the second such incident in West Bengal within three days, following the suicide of Shanti Muni Ekka, a 48-year-old anganwadi worker and BLO from Jalpaiguri. Both women, according to their families and, in Rinku’s case, a detailed suicide note, were overwhelmed by the demands of the SIR process—a nationwide effort to revise and update India’s electoral rolls in preparation for the publication of a final voter list in February 2026.
Rinku’s two-page note, written in Bengali and later shared publicly by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, laid bare the depth of her distress. "I do not support any political party. I am a very ordinary person. But I cannot handle this inhuman work pressure," she wrote. The note revealed that while she had completed 95% of the offline tasks, she struggled with the online uploading of forms—a digital hurdle that her family says became insurmountable due to her lack of computer skills. "She distributed the forms on time but didn’t know how to upload them. This is not suicide, but murder by the EC," her husband, Ashim, alleged, echoing a sentiment that has quickly gained traction among many government workers and their advocates.
Rinku’s case is not an isolated one. Across India, at least six BLO suicides have been reported from five states—West Bengal, Kerala, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu—since the SIR process was rolled out. In Jalpaiguri, Shanti Muni Ekka’s family said she too was defeated by the digital demands of the job, compounded by language barriers that made the online procedures even more daunting. The mounting toll has ignited a political firestorm in West Bengal, with leaders from across the spectrum weighing in.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, visibly shaken, took to X (formerly Twitter) on November 23 to post an image of Rinku’s suicide note and express her "profound shock." She asked pointedly, "How many more lives will be lost?" Banerjee has been a vocal critic of the Election Commission’s approach, accusing it of imposing an "unplanned, relentless workload" on BLOs by compressing a three-year process into just two months. Her concerns are shared by many in her party, the Trinamool Congress (TMC), which has called an internal meeting to review the SIR exercise and ensure that no eligible voter is left out.
Krishnanagar MP Mahua Moitra also amplified Rinku’s story, sharing a video in which she read the note aloud in both Hindi and English, aiming to draw national attention to the plight of frontline election workers. The emotional resonance of these messages has put the EC under intense scrutiny, but the response from opposition parties has been mixed.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has expressed condolences for the deaths but has also questioned the authenticity of Rinku’s note. Bengal BJP chief Samik Bhattacharya has called for a thorough investigation, stating, "If any party thinks EC is working in connivance with another, they should go to the Supreme Court." Meanwhile, BJP general secretary Agnimitra Paul has criticized the West Bengal government for not acting on the EC’s request to recruit 1,000 data entry operators—a move that might have alleviated some of the digital burden on BLOs. "Despite BLOs repeatedly saying they were unfamiliar with digital work, the state government did not respond to the EC’s request," Paul asserted.
As the controversy has grown, Bengal’s chief electoral officer Manoj Agarwal has tried to strike a note of caution. As of November 23, he stated that reports from district authorities on the two deaths had yet to reach his office. "Once we get the report, we will send it to the EC," Agarwal said, signaling that official investigations are still in their early stages.
Governor CV Ananda Bose has also stepped into the fray, urging restraint and careful examination of the facts. At a press conference in Kolkata marking his third year in office, Bose stated, "In such a situation, it is better to avoid a knee-jerk reaction. What the Chief Minister said has to be examined in detail. I am sure we have an Election Commission which is strong enough and has a balanced outlook. All these issues can be examined properly and appropriate solutions found, but what is required is free and fair elections in this country." Bose further called for dialogue between the state government and the EC, offering to take the initiative to bridge any gaps. He also announced plans to visit border areas to conduct a "reality check" on concerns about infiltrators and the anxiety surrounding the SIR process.
The SIR exercise is not limited to West Bengal. It is currently underway in 12 states and union territories, including Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. The final electoral list is set to be published on February 7, 2026—a deadline that looms large for thousands of BLOs across the country, many of whom continue to juggle their regular government duties with the additional workload of the SIR.
The Trinamool Congress is not waiting for the dust to settle. On November 24, party general secretary Abhishek Banerjee will chair an internal meeting to review SIR-related progress and ensure that no eligible voter is left out. Chief Minister Banerjee is also scheduled to meet with the Matua community in Bongaon, North 24 Parganas, on November 25, in a bid to reassure voters and address their concerns about the ongoing revision process.
Amid the political wrangling and administrative uncertainty, the human stories at the heart of this crisis remain deeply affecting. Rinku Tarafdar’s final words—"I wanted to live"—echo far beyond her family and colleagues, serving as a stark reminder of the pressures that can come with public service, especially when digital demands outpace the skills and support available to those on the front lines. As the nation awaits the results of official inquiries and political negotiations, the urgent need for compassion, training, and systemic reform has never felt clearer.
