Psephologist and activist Yogendra Yadav and economist Parakala Prabhakar were among the public intellectuals who forecast “the highest disenfranchisement in the history of the nation” in West Bengal due to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voters’ lists, claiming that the exercise is part of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s ‘misuse of state machinery’ ahead of Assembly polls in the State.
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“From the very first day I have maintained that SIR was always meant for Bengal. Bihar was just the testing ground… SIR is a votebandi exercise set to undermine the universality of India’s universal adult franchise,” Mr. Yadav said. He was addressing a Kolkata public event organised by civil society groups, The Educationists’ Forum, West Bengal, and Desh Bachao Gano Mancha on Saturday (November 22, 2025).
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If the number of deletions from the electoral roll touches one crore, as predicted by BJP leaders including Suvendu Adhikari, the Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly, West Bengal will “witness the largest ever disenfranchisement in the history of India, if not the world,” Mr. Yadav said.
