CHENNAI: Of the six crore people in Tamil Nadu, an estimated one per cent are transpersons (including those who haven’t come out), according to start-up Periferry. Among them, only 7,246 are valid electors, and just two are contesting in the elections.
Bharathi Kannamma (66), of the New Generation People’s Party, will contest from Madurai South independently on the ‘pot’ symbol, while M Radha (53) is seeking to get elected from Mylapore constituency on the ‘telephone’ symbol.
Asked why there are so few transperson candidates, Bharathi shot back, asking whether the share of contestants among other genders is good. “Considering the head count of our community, two is good,” she asserted. As many as 3,585 men and 411 women are contesting in the elections next month. However, the picture doesn’t seem so gloomy compared to what it was in the previous elections.
In 2006, the Election Commission books had only two categories for electors and candidates male and female. Transpersons were forced to fit into the binary. In 2011, a third category, ‘others’, was included.
In the intervening period, two major developments took place in the State the term ‘Thirunangai’ (meaning transwoman) was coined by the then CM late M Karunanidhi, and the country’s first Transgender Persons Welfare Board was set up.
In 2014, in a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court recognised transgender people as a third gender, and in 2016, the changes were reflected in the Election Commission books. ‘Others’ became ‘third gender’.
But the number of poll candidates remained dismally low. There were no contestants in 2011, and in the 2016 Assembly elections, there were two. Both forfeited their deposits, from RK Nagar and Madurai South.
M Radha said that among other things, she is contesting to send out a message that transpersons too are equals. “I am also contesting to understand the pulse of society,” she added. Transgender activist Nila pointed out that while people of the community struggle to access education, jobs and government schemes, it would be too ambitious for them to contest in the elections. “Most of them aren’t even aware of the importance of having a voter ID card,” she explained.