JAIPUR: The transgender community heavily boycotted polling and failed to turn up in significant numbers. Alleging that they were ignored and that no political party mentioned anything about provisions of welfare for their community in their manifestos they refused to cast their votes.While polling percentage touched 74.2% in the state in assembly elections held on December 7, the percentage of transgender community voters remained 32.8%, much below than the total polling percentage. Out of 29 registered transgender voters, only nine of them had voted in Jaipur district . They were unhappy as the election commission failed to register many transgenders in electoral rolls.“Ahead of elections, the election commission had formed a committee and issued a letter asking all the district election officers to take help from me in encouraging people of the transgender community to get their names registered in electoral rolls with a mention of third gender. It is sad that despite all the directions from election commission, no district election officer managed to call me for the purpose,” said Pushpa Mai, a transgender fighting for the rights of her community in the state.She said, “No such camps were organised in the state except in Ajmer where there has been some work done in this direction. But overall the transgender community feels ignored. No political party has mentioned plans for the welfare of our community in their manifestos issued ahead of assembly elections.”Transgender community alleged that all political parties had something for children, women and for other sections of the society but there was nothing for transgender community. The transgender community claimed that they have a population of one lakh in the state but they had been ignored. According to the election commission, there were 228 voters, who were registered in transgender category. As they boycotted elections, only 75 transgenders voted.A transgender Reena was surprised when she failed to find her name in the voters list. “I wanted to contest poll from Kota. I started addressing public meetings but when I reached to file my nomination ahead of the election, my name was missing from the voters list. It came as a shock to me but I was unable to do anything at that point of time,” she said.

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