Lack of awareness, non possession of IDs key reason for miserable turnout from transgender voters

Chandra Prabhu | NT

Bengaluru: A lack of electoral awareness, in addition to many not possessing Voter IDs are the key reasons for near to zero turnout of transgender persons in the Lok Sabha elections, transgender activists have opined.

Bengaluru polled on Friday, April 26. Lesser number of voters turned in, than it turned out in 2019.

Voter apathy, in the midst of a supposed ‘long weekend,’ was the talk of the town.

According to the data compiled by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and the Chief Electoral Officer(CEO), Karnataka, 1820 voters were categorised under the ‘others’ category.

However, most of the assembly segments in their parliamentary constituencies have reported single digit turnout, and a handful of it reporting turnout of zeroes and ones.

Mala, a Bengaluru based activist, pointed it towards the lack of awareness in their community.

“Not many people in the community don’t know how to get their hands on a Voter ID,” they said.

A lack of confidence, in addition to familial issues, are also other factors in the poor turnout.

“People like us are poorly treated. I have heard transgender persons not being able to queue up properly to vote,” they claimed.

Ramping up awareness is the only way to increase voter turnout from the community, Mala said.

“We face a lot of issues, from our families, to the houses we live on rent. The stereotypes also don’t help us, and a lot of transgenders can’t fill up necessary forms for documentations,” they added.

Rakshitha Mallikarjuna, Transgender woman and board member of Ondede Trust echoed similar catalysts for the miserably poor turnout of transgender voters.

“Lack of documentation boils down to refusal from parents. “The basic awareness to vote with a proof of identity is missing. India, home to around 15 lakh voters, needs the government to be proactive with addressing the transgender community,” Mallikarjuna said.

A Proper survey, with proper training should be the top priority, Mallikarjuna said. “Government needs to acknowledge previous failures and rectify it,” she signed off.