Daily Briefing: A day in the life of BLOs

🚨Big Picture

Time is ticking for the enumeration phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, unfolding in 12 states and Union Territories. Lakhs of booth-level officers (BLOs) have fanned out across their districts to meet the December 4 deadline. At least five have died by suicide, attributing stress and responsibilities related to SIR. The Indian Express spent a day with two BLOs to understand the challenges they face.

West Bengal: Atri Mitra joins Pinki Jaiswal, 45, in the Beleghat Assembly seat. Her day begins at 5.30 am and ends around midnight, spent uploading enumeration forms and mostly knocking on doors across her block. The challenge isn’t just rigorous field work, but also voter apathy. “We don’t have much time,” she reminds them.

Rajasthan: When she isn’t busy fielding calls from clueless or angry electors, Laxmi Gupta, a 54-year-old, is out and about helping voters fill their forms. “Most of them don’t fill up the forms, and I have to sit with them and guide them. That takes up most of my time,” says Gupta, who has to upload details of over 950 electors by December 4.

Besides voluminous paperwork and electors that need extensive guidance, BLOs are dealing with a glitchy app (where they have to upload all forms). As Damini Nath explains, after the Bihar elections, the EC made changes to the SIR process that increased the workload for BLOs. What has also changed is the speed and severity of action taken against them for any lapses.

⚡Only in Express

The Centre’s move to introduce a Constitution amendment Bill that would bring Chandigarh under its ambit triggered a political storm. With resistance brewing — even inside the Punjab BJP — the plan was swiftly shelved. Yet, The Indian Express has learned that on Saturday, the Centre circulated an informal note to senior Punjab BJP leaders, pitching the advantages of placing Chandigarh’s governance under Article 240. So what exactly did the note argue, and how did Punjab BJP leaders react? Manoj C G has the full inside story.

🎧 For more on the Chandigarh question, tune in to today’s ‘3 Things’ podcast episode.

📰 From the Front Page

Dark times: In 1983, Assam witnessed the darkest chapter in post-Independence India’s history. Thousands were massacred in the midst of the Assembly elections and the Assam Agitation, demanding the deportation of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. In Nellie, as many as 1,800 people were killed, though the unofficial number is 3,000, and most of them were Bengali-speaking Muslims. On Tuesday, the first day of the winter session in Assam, two reports were tabled on the massacre — with contrasting accounts.

Job vacancy: The Army is short of nearly 1.8 lakh soldiers. To fill the gap, the Army is looking to increase vacancies for the recruitment of Agniveers to over 1 lakh every year, from the current 45,000-50,000.

Revolving door: Besides internal differences and electoral defeat, the Opposition camp in Maharashtra, Maha Vikas Aghadi, is facing another challenge: its members are crossing over to the ruling Mahayuti — mostly to the BJP. Read Alok Deshpande’s analysis.

📌 Must Read

Poll time: Kerala is due for local body elections in December. The polls are a crucial test for both the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the Congress’s United Democratic Front (UDF) ahead of next year’s Assembly elections. But the polls have garnered intrigue for another reason: the diverse candidates in the fray, from the state’s first woman IPS officer and a woman known for making porottas at a roadside stall to the man who inspired the movie, Manjummel Boys.

The E2: US President Donald Trump’s peace plan for Ukraine has turned the clock back on the years of the conflict. His formula mirrors most of Russia’s demands: ceding eastern Ukraine and Crimea, keeping Kyiv out of NATO, and limiting its military. It also heralds a new US-Russia partnership. As audacious as it may sound, does India benefit from this relationship? Contributing editor C Raja Mohan decodes.

⏳ And Finally…

Tung Tung Tung Sahur. Tralalero Tralala. Brri Brri Bicus Dicus Bombicus.

Confused? Let me introduce you to the hottest meme genre of 2025: Italian brainrot. From a Nike-wearing three-legged shark to a ballerina with a cappuccino drink for its head, AI-generated characters have flooded the internet and captivated the youngest consumers — Gen Alpha. Why does this generation love this seeming gibberish? I posit that they are not so different from characters that have long appeared in children’s literature. Think Lewis Carroll’s Humpty Dumpty, a giant egg, or the immensely popular Pikachu, an electric mouse. Know all about Italian brainrot.

That’s all for today, folks! Until tomorrow!
Sonal Gupta

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