SIR row: Political parties fail to appoint BLAs in Uttar Pradesh

Even as the Election Commission's special intensive revision (SIR) exercise continues to make noise across the country, political parties have failed to appoint the required number of booth level agents (BLAs) in various districts of Uttar Pradesh.

- MANOJ BHADRA

The officials, however, said around 85 per cent of the total 15.44 crore voter enumeration forms in the state have been digitised so far. According to official sources, the country's oldest party, the Indian National Congress, does not have BLAs in 17 districts of UP.

Similarly, principal opposition Samajwadi Party does not have any BLA in Rampur district, the stronghold of Mohammad Azam Khan, while BSP has no BLA in Kanpur Nagar district. The ruling BJP too is not lagging behind as it could not find any BLAs for 2,643 booths, mostly in the minority dominated areas.

After Booth Level Officers (BLOs), BLAs are the most important link for political parties in the SIR.