BENGALURU: Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Chief Commissioner Tushar Girinath on Tuesday instructed officials to identify transgender persons and persons and disabilities who are aged 18 years and above, and enrol them in the voter list.
As per records from the office of the Bengaluru Urban District Commissioner, there are currently 9,182 transgender persons in the city and 9,085 of them have Epic cards. Of the remaining, 15 have applied for the card, leaving 82 who have to be contacted.
At a special meeting regarding the revision of voter list, Girinath told the officials to take the help of sexual minority organisations and prepare a list of transgender persons who have yet to get registered.
As records such as address details and date of birth are not available due to technical difficulties in the inclusion of some gender minorities in electoral rolls, he asked the officials top coordinate with the zonal joint commissioners and take action as per the guidelines of the Election Commission.
Special Commissioner (Election) Ujjwal Kumar Ghosh instructed the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities and Senior Citizens, Karnataka State Women’s Development Corporation, and Department of Women and Child Welfare to take effective action on inclusion of gender minorities and persons with disabilities in the voter list as well as create voter awareness.