More transgenders stepped out to cast their votes this time in Pune district

The State Election Commission had undertaken special drives to ensure transgender individuals are included in the voters’ list.

Anil Ukrande from Yutak LGBTQIA Trust said last June, Shrikant Deshpande, the then CEO of Maharashtra, had worked closely with them to increase the inclusion of transgender persons in the electoral rolls. Given that many transgender persons do not have enough documentation, the CEO office has allowed on-spot registration and also taken innovative means to get them registered. The community has the traditional Guru-chela system and the declaration of the Guru was taken as enough proof to issue them a voter id card. This has resulted in an overall increase in the number of transgender voters in the list. However, many transgender individuals have preferred to register themselves as female. So the actual number of those who voted would be higher than the reflected in the numbers.

“Nearly two months before elections, we took to social media to encourage transgender voters to vote–we told them that voting would allow them to be part of the system and fight for their rights,” Ukrande said. Sonali Dalvi, a transwoman and an activist said she went from home-to-home to impress on the trans individuals to vote. “Voting is a right which Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar has given us and we must exercise it. This was my message to the community, “she said.

At MIST LGBTQ Foundation, founder Shyam Konnur and others had taken to word of mouth publicity to ensure voting increases in the community. “Many trans individuals drop by our office and we impressed upon them the importance of voting. Quite a few of them were first time voters and thus were very excited,” he said.