Congress Speeds Up Appointment of BLAs Across Telangana

Hyderabad: The Congress has speeded up the process of the appointment of booth level agents (BLAs), having already covered half of the Assembly constituencies in the state ahead of the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Progress of the drive is being closely monitored by the party high command, sources said. AICC incharge Meenakshi Natarajan will be reviewing the matter with leaders at different levels on Monday and take measures towards accelerating the progress.

During the latest meeting held between PCC president B. Mahesh Kumar Goud and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi in Delhi, the deployment of BLAs was discussed besides key issues such as formation of district and mandal level committees. “Within a week we shall be wrapping up the entire process. Most of the BLAs have been already identified. We will be sharing the details of the enlisted BLAs with the election authorities. Those selected will be on the ground once the ECI rolls out the SIR in the state,” said DCC president Syed Khalid Saifullah.

In February, Chief Electoral Officer C. Sudarshan Reddy had urged recognized political parties, during a meeting, to appoint at least one BLA for every polling station ahead of the SIR exercise. He also urged them to complete the appointment of BLAs for all polling stations at the earliest.

“Each of the persons shortlisted for appointment of BLAs is undergoing a meticulous background verification process. They will also face tele-verification to ensure that he or she is interested in the job,” P. Rajesh Kumar, chairman PCC Election Commission coordination committee.

“Before appointing them, we want to make sure the job is not imposed on them by the local leadership, otherwise their appointment would prove to be futile. Prior to the SIR they will be trained rigorously and they should wholeheartedly get ready to take up this task,” Rajesh said.