ECI adds Mark VIP feature to app used by booth level officers

…exercise (SIR) in 16 states and three Union territories, HT has found. Officials at Delhi’s chief electoral officer’s (CEO’s) office said that the app – named BLO App – was updated on July 30 with the new feature. “ The CEO office cannot make any changes to the apps or the software. Orders come directly from the commission ,” said an official in the CEO’s office who did not want to be named. Records from the Apple Appstore showed that the update to the app was logged on July 31, with the descriptor “mark VIP elector related changes”. No…

…to BLOs in Delhi, Haryana and West Bengal. BLOs in Delhi and Haryana confirmed that the module was live on their apps. Those from West Bengal said it was not present when the SIR began in the state in November 2025. “ The ‘Mark VIP’ feature wasn’t included in the BLO app in 2025 when SIR was held in West Bengal. It was introduced more than a month ago. It helps the BLO to mark the person as VIP during verification ,” said a member of the BLO association in West Bengal, requesting anonymity. The development comes amid a controversy over VIP voters in the Capital after several prominent people were sent logical discrepancy notices,…

…added to the draft roll but they are not immune to claims and objections notices, which might explain why many prominent people were served logical discrepancy notices. Eases enumeration process for ‘VIP holders’ “ The feature ‘Mark VIP’ is like a consolidation exercise. Once a BLO marks an elector as VIP with an asterisk after visiting the residence of a voter, it is vetted by the AERO and ERO and subsequently by the office of the chief electoral officer, Delhi ,” said a senior official from the New Delhi district. The official added that there were around 1,000 VIP electors in the district. The second official from the Delhi CEO office cited above said BLOs were always given…