“BLOs are now operating far beyond human limits. They are expected to manage their principal duties (many being teachers and frontline workers) while simultaneously conducting door-to-door surveys and handling complex e-submissions. Most are struggling online due to lack of training, server failures and repeated data mismatches,” the letter adds.

She wrote that instead of offering support, extending timelines or addressing systemic flaws, the office of the CEO West Bengal had resorted to intimidation.

“Show-cause notices are being issued without justification. BLOs are being threatened with severe disciplinary action simply because the Commission refuses to acknowledge the reality on the ground,” the letter says.

Mamata urged the CEC to “intervene decisively to halt the ongoing exercise, stop coercive measures, provide proper training and support, and thoroughly reassess the present methodology and timelines.”

“Continuing this unplanned, coercive drive not only endangers more lives but also jeopardises the legitimacy of the electoral revision process,” she said.

Political observers believe the chief minister, who is also the Trinamool Congress supremo, is attempting a strategic outreach by standing beside the BLOs and bringing them into her confidence during the SIR drive.

Opposition BJP and CPI(M) alleged that many BLOs were found carrying out SIR work from inside Trinamool Congress party offices or local clubs dominated by the ruling party, enabling dubious and dead voters to re-enter the electoral rolls.

They claimed the letter was an attempt to influence BLOs so that Trinamool’s Booth Level Agents (BLAs) could pressure them to retain fake voters on the list.

According to opposition allegations, names of around 6,000 dead voters were found in the electoral rolls during the Kaliganj bypoll in Nadia district.