MYSURU: Though Karnataka recorded the highest-ever voter turnout of over 73.19%, the transgender turnout remained below 25%, indicating that there is a need for more awareness among these communities.
A total of 4,927 transgenders were registered voters under the ‘other’ category. Of them, only 1,037 exercised their franchise, which is just 21.05%.
The turnout was disappointing despite the SVEEP committee and deputy commissioners across the state holding awareness programmes and meetings with transgender activists and community leaders. The damp response has left the department of women and child welfare officers worried.
The situation is similar in Mysuru division — covering Mysuru, Mandya and Chamarajanagar districts -- where the turnout was below 25%. In Mysuru, 49 of 226, in Mandya, 43 of 145 and in Chamarajanagar, 14 of 69 voters had cast their votes.
Transgender activists pointed out that compared to previous years, including gram panchayat and Lok Sabha elections, more transgenders turned up this time.
Pranathi Prakash, a transgender activist from Mysuru, said over the years, transgenders had a problem of mentioning their gender in the voter list. In the last two years, this has been resolved, and around 226 voter IDs have been distributed mentioning ‘others’ or ‘transgender’, Prakash said, adding that the turnout was higher relative to previous years.