MYSURU: Amidst the vibrant tapestry of Karnataka’s electoral enthusiasm, a sobering statistic casts a shadow of concern — the transgender community’s turnout at polling booths. Despite 3,067 voters registered under the ‘other’ category, only 667 exercised their franchise across 14 Lok Sabha constituencies, marking a starkly low turnout of 21.74 per cent.
Efforts by the State Voter Empowerment Programme (SVEEP) committee and deputy commissioner’s offices to sensitise and engage with transgender activists and community leaders have been valiant, but fall short of addressing the core issues.
In the picturesque Mysuru division, encompassing Mysuru, Mandya, and Chamarajanagar Lok Sabha constituencies, the turnout lags at less than 25 per cent as well. Specifically, in the Mysuru-Kodagu constituency, out of 184 registered voters, only 38 cast their ballots. Similarly, in Mandya, with 168 registered voters, only 44 participated, while in Chamarajanagar, out of 107 registered voters, a mere 31 exercised their franchise.
While officials highlight their extensive sensitisation programmes and efforts to instill confidence among transgender voters, the turnout at polling booths remains a challenge.
Pranathi Prakash, a transgender activist from Mysuru, said that earlier, there have been problems of people getting voter IDs with ‘Others’ mentioned on them, but now it has been resolved. “Compared to the previous years, the turnout is good and in the days to come, more sensitisation would help increase the turnout,” she said.
Meanwhile, another transgender, a registered voter from NR Mohalla, on condition of anonymity, said, “We often face the threat of discrimination at the polling stations, which has been pointed out as the reason for the low voter turnout.”