With the Assembly and BBMP elections not far away, the poor representation of the sexual minority groups in the electoral roll has raised concerns among members of the community.
While the members of the community claim that there are at least two lakh of them across the state, the 2018 assembly elections had only close to 4,700 registered voters from the transgender community.
Speaking to DH, Akkai Padmashali, popular transgender activist from Bengaluru, said that neither the administration nor the government understand their identity and hence, they tend to remain neglected.
“Ours is a diverse community. From ‘jogappas’ in North Karnataka to mangalamukhis, we are identified by various names. When the authorities don’t understand our identity, they tend to ignore us. None of the officials has approached us or set up camps to register members from our community,” she said.
She added that many members of the community were not aware that they have to register to vote and the authorities have failed to reach out to them.
More awareness progs
Senior officials from the State Election Commission said lack of representation of the community could have serious implications.
“Politicians or people in power look at the vote bank before taking up any development or welfare projects. Since the community has very little representation in electoral rolls, it is possible that the people’s representatives might not take much interest in working towards their welfare,” an official said.
Asked what measures have been put in place to get them registered in the electoral rolls, BBMP chief commissioner Tushar Girinath, who is in charge of the electoral roll revisions, said they plan to join hands with NGOs and agencies working towards the welfare of the community.
“It is important to ensure that every community is well represented. Our door-to-door survey will help reach out to many of them. If that is found inadequate, we also plan to work closely with organisations and NGOs who work with the community,” he said.
However, senior officials from BBMP told DH that plans are yet to be executed on the ground.
“We are trying to collect data from various departments. However, we have not been able to achieve much progress,” the officials said.
Senior officials from the state election commission said awareness programmes have been planned almost on a regular basis.
Lack of address proof
Savitha (name changed), who moved to Bengaluru from North Karnataka, after her family refused to accept her, said many members of the community do not have sufficient documents to enrol themselves.
“Many of us live a life in hiding and do not have a permanent address or address proof, since we are denied houses for rent. None of the officials visits our places. Though a few of us try to register ourselves, lack of documents and unsupportive officials make the process so hard that many give up,” she said.
There have been instances where many members who are 60 years or 65 years have not been able to vote to this day, they said.
“I voted for the first time only in the 2018 Assembly elections, at the age of 34,” Akkai said.
Neglect at booths
“If this left us thinking how difficult it was to get registered, the bigger hurdle is to go to the booth and vote on election day,” said another member of the community.
“Even if we manage to get our cards register, it is mentally disturbing to go out and stand there in the queue to vote. Neither the public nor the officials at the booth accept us,” one of them said.
A senior official from the State Election Commission acknowledged that there was a need to sensitise the officials.
“I agree that officials working on the ground need to be sensitised on this. Also, I feel that members of the community should come out of their shell and open up to the world. It might be difficult for them in the beginning, but that is the only way out to rightfully fight for their rights,” the official said.
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