Mumbai, Nov 9 (PTI) The State Election Commission ofMaharashtra (SECM) has managed to nearly double the enrolmentof transgenders in the voting rolls in the last five years,despite having little cooperation from their "gurus".
The number of transgenders entitled to vote now standsat 1,701 from 900 recorded in 2012, an SECM official saidtoday.
The highest enrolment of 311 transgender voters isdone in Mumbai suburban, he said, adding districts likeBhandara, Gadchiroli, Sindhudurg and Jalna have no transgendervoters.
"The state election commission has tried hard to bringthe transgender community into the parliamentary system toensure they get the right to vote. In 2012, the number oftransgenders registered in the voters list was 900, it hasbeen increased to 1701 after our constant efforts," theofficial said.
He said the members of transgender community have totake permission of their "gurus" to enrol their names forPermanent Account Number (PAN), for Passport and even forenrolment in voters list.
"Many a times, these gurus do not allow transgendersto provide documents. We held several meetings with gurus atMantralaya to convince them. But, as voting is not mandatoryin our nation, we cannot force anybody to enrol his or hername in the voters' list," he added.
He said around six to seven gurus attended the lastsuch meeting which was held in June this year.
"Due to their efforts, more transgenders enrolledtheir names," he added.
When asked why Bhandara, Gadchiroli, Sindhudurg andJalna do not have a single transgender registered, theofficial said there is a possibility that the community maynot be aware about it.
Otherwise, tribal district such as Nandurbar has 12transgenders registered. Mumbai city has 104, Ahmednagar andPune has 118 each while Thane has 245 registered transgenders.
"The special drive to register names in voters listfor common people will continue till November 30 and the finallist will be published on January 5," said the official.
Before Lok Sabha polls of 2019, the special drive willbe once again conducted, he added. PTI MMNSK.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.