187 of 1,700 transgender electors in Bihar voted; one contested

New Delhi: The representation of transgender persons in the just-held Bihar elections remained dismal with only 187 (excluding postal votes) of the total 1,701 (including service voters) registered electors turning up at polling stations to cast vote.

There was only one trans gender candidate who fought the election and lost deposit, data shared by the Election Commission shows.

According to the data, the strength of registered transgender elector was 1701 out of the total electorate of 7.47 crore.

In an election which set record for maximum number of voter turnout in the state since the first assembly polls in 1951, the voting percentage among transgender electors was recorded at 10.99 per cent.

The overall voter turnout stood at 67.25 per cent in the two-phased election held earlier this month.

Only one trans gender contested the poll and lost deposit for not securing the minimum votes, the data shows.

There were 2,616 candidates in fray and 243 won, while 2,107 lost deposit.

According to election law, a candidate contesting an assembly poll has to make a security deposit of Rs 10,000, which is Rs 5,000 for a candidate belonging to Scheduled Caste or Tribe. If a defeated candidate fails to secure more than one sixth of the valid votes polled in the constituency, they lose the security deposit.