Written by Sweety KumariKolkata | November 7, 2025 06:47 AM IST 3 min readThe gap between the Opposition BJP and the ruling TMC, despite the latter’s dominant political footprint, has fueled speculation.Out of the 80,681 polling booths in West Bengal, political parties, including the ruling TMC, have so far not been able to register names of their Booth Level Agents (BLA) in half of them, even as the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls entered the third day.While the TMC has registered 35,364 BLAs, the BJP has been able to name 37,700; the CPI(M) 29,160, the Congress 6,999, while the Forward Bloc with the least number of 1,091 BLAs, according to the data provided by the Election Commission.The BLA, an agent appointed by a political party to work directly with the Election Commission’s Booth Level Officer (BLO), is the foot soldier of the electoral process, crucial during activities like the SIR of electoral rolls. Their role is to verify voter data, report discrepancies like dead or shifted voters, and safeguard their party’s interests at the grassroots.Surprisingly, the Opposition BJP currently leads the pack, demonstrating a significant focus on organisational depth at the booth level.The gap between the Opposition BJP and the ruling TMC, despite the latter’s dominant political footprint, has fueled speculation.BJP leader Rahul Sinha said that the TMC’s low BLA count was related to their unwillingness to fully support the SIR process.“The TMC never wanted the SIR. So naturally, they didn’t field enough BLAs. They have workers and organization. If they wanted, they could have given BLAs everywhere. It is their strategy not to field BLOs everywhere. In fact, there are BLOs, who are distributing the SIR form from the party office. The Election Commission must take stringent action against such people. As far as the BJP is concerned. There are several minority pockets where we don’t have workers on the ground. Even if there are one or two, they wouldn’t like to identify themselves as the BJP’s BLA for obvious reasons,” Sinha told The Indian Express.Story continues below this adCPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty said that TMC’s low BLA numbers are because of their “over-reliance on official BLOs”.“The chief minister (Mamata Banerjee) had earlier said that till she was alive, she would not let SIR take place in the state. Now, she has realised there is no other way. As far as BLAs are concerned, the TMC feels BLOs are their own party workers. So, there is no need for any additional person as BLA. With this thought, they don’t feel the need to add more BLAs. But if this is found to be true on the ground, it is going to be a tough time for the BLOs,” the CPI(M) leader said.The TMC, on the other hand, said that the data shared by EC is old.“The BJP has not been able to deploy BLAs in a majority of booths because they have no organisation or workers there. Their leaders themselves are aware of that. The Congress exists in a few pockets only in districts like Malda, Murshidabad, and some others. The CPI(M) has lost most of its cadre to the BJP. In my home constituency in Jadavpur, the BLO was accompanied by the TMC and CPIM BLAs. The BJP BLA was absent. It is because there are no BJP workers here. We have given BLAs in all booths.”Sweety Kumari reports from West Bengal for The Indian Express. She is a journalist with over a decade of experience in the media industry. Covers Crime, Defence, Health , Politics etc and writes on trending topics. With a keen eye for investigative and human-interest stories. She has honed her craft across diverse beats including aviation, health, incidents etc. Sweety delivers impactful journalism that informs and engages audiences. Sweety Kumari is a graduate of Calcutta University with an Honors degree in Journalism from Jaipuria College and a PG in Mass Communication from Jadavpur University. Originally from Bihar, she is brought up in Kolkata and completed her education from Kendriya Vidyalaya SaltLake. Multilingual, Sweety is fluent in English, Hindi, Bengali, and Maithili. She started her career as an Entertainment and lifestyle journalist with a newsportal in Kolkata. She is working with The Indian Express for 8 years now. ... Read MoreStay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:Kolkata