In Rajasthan, the voter list released for the legislative assembly elections, scheduled for 25 November, includes only 606 transgender individuals. However, according to the 2011 census, the state has 16,517 transgender individuals.
When the Election Commission was questioned about the thousands of missing transgenders from the voter list, they tried to pass the buck. Chief Election Officer Praveen Gupta explained, “We receive data online, and based on that, we create voter IDs. It’s not our responsibility to determine who is transgender and who is not. It’s the responsibility of the Human Commission to provide us with the data, and we work accordingly. We have run many campaigns, but transgender individuals do not find any interest in getting a voter card. The fact is that these people do not benefit from the voter card. The interest of transgender individuals lies in what government schemes could potentially benefit them. Even if a transgender person wants to change their gender in government documents, they often hide their identity due to societal fear. This is why the majority of transgender individuals in Rajasthan are voting as women.”
Pushpa Mai, a member of the Rajasthan Transgender Welfare, explained that she has undertaken various efforts to raise awareness about the third gender, but due to the lack of full support from the government, she hasn’t been successful in her endeavours. The problem persists as when it comes to obtaining a voter ID, the first requirement is address proof. Many transgender individuals often leave their homes, and as a result, they lack any address proof. This makes it challenging for them to acquire a voter ID.