Parakala Prabhakar Warns Electoral Roll Revision Could Disenfranchise 16 Crore Voters

During a lecture at Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Open University in Hyderabad on Thursday, economist and political commentator Parakala Prabhakar warned that the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls could lead to the large-scale disenfranchisement of an estimated 16 crore people. Speaking at the P.V. Narasimha Rao Memorial Lecture, Prabhakar cautioned that the exercise risks pushing marginalized communities out of the democratic process and reshaping the country into a "democracy of the few."

Prabhakar stated that the Special Intensive Revision is creating two classes of citizens: those who can vote and those who cannot. He alleged that at the current pace, millions of voters—particularly minorities, Dalits, Adivasis, and economically weaker sections—risk losing their voting rights.

According to Prabhakar, political parties are currently viewing the removal of names from electoral rolls solely through the prism of immediate electoral gains and losses, focusing only on whether those removed are their supporters. However, he warned that in the long run, the political landscape will be altered, making entire sections of society politically inconsequential.

Linking the SIR with the proposed delimitation exercise, Prabhakar claimed that the revision has been planned and implemented in an opaque manner. He cited replies obtained under the Right to Information (RTI) Act to support his claim that sufficient material has not been placed in the public domain to justify the exercise. He warned that the combination of these exercises would shape a Hindu majoritarian consolidation and create a "Hindu savarna polity."

Prabhakar also questioned the fairness of recent elections in West Bengal, pointing out that approximately 28 lakh voters had allegedly been removed from the electoral rolls there, with many of those cases still pending before tribunals.

Earlier during the event, Ghanta Chakrapani, the Vice-Chancellor of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Open University, also spoke on the issue. Chakrapani criticized the Election Commission, stating that it had deployed its army to eliminate a section of the people from electoral rolls, describing it as an inversion of democracy where the rulers decide who gets to be a voter.