Little sleep, no pay: India’s poll workers flag harsh conditions amid uproar over deaths

A few days ago, Sarvesh Kumar, a school teacher in India’s Uttar Pradesh state, was found dead in his home.

In a video purportedly made by him before his death, Kumar can be seen weeping. He talks about the pressures of election work. He is upset about not being able to complete it on time.

“I have not been able to sleep for 20 days. If I had time, I would have finished this work,” he says in the video.

Kumar was among thousands of government staff. They have been deployed since 4 November. Their task is to help update electoral rolls for more than 500 million voters across 12 states and union territories.

Called the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), the Election Commission (EC) says the drive aims to include every eligible voter. It also seeks to remove ineligible names from the rolls.

Booth-level officers (BLOs) – usually government teachers, junior staff and contract workers – serve as the EC’s grassroots field staff. They go door-to-door to distribute forms, verify documents, answer queries and upload accurate data, all within a one-month deadline.

But that’s not all. Poll workers – many of whom are primary school teachers and anganwadi [government-sponsored childcare centre] workers – say that at times, they are also expected to juggle their regular work with election duties.

The BBC spoke to 10 BLOs in Uttar Pradesh. It also interviewed BLOs in West Bengal. These are two politically crucial states where the SIR exercise has faced controversy. They said they were working 14–15 hours a day with little rest, minimal sleep, and meagre pay.

The punishing schedules have sparked outrage, especially after more than a dozen workers, including Kumar, died. Families have linked the deaths – from alleged suicides or heart attacks – to election work-related stress. The BBC has not independently verified the causes of death.

The EC has not responded to a detailed list of questions from the BBC.

In Gujarat, Arvindbhai Vadher, a primary school teacher, allegedly died by suicide last month “due to the torturous nature of BLO work”, his family told BBC Gujarati.

In a note purportedly written by him before his death which the BBC has seen, Vadher said that he had been feeling “constant fatigue and mental stress” for several days.

In another instance, Rameshbhai Parmar was a school principal in Gujarat. He died in his sleep. This occurred after a stressful day of SIR work, his family alleged.

Parmar’s daughter Shilpaben said he often worked long hours or late into the night. On the day he died, he went out several times for SIR work. He went to bed without eating.

The deaths have highlighted concerns about poll workers’ conditions. Opposition leaders are criticising the EC and government for rushing the SIR exercise. (The previous SIR exercise in 2002-2003 was conducted over six months.)

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