Hijras (eunuchs) in the city, who were casting their votes in the Male or Female category, for the first time exercised their franchises in the ‘Others’ category in the BMC polls held on Wednesday. As many as 110 Hijras of the Vani Vihar slum, Salia Sahi and Patrapada cast their votes at the Saheed Nagar High School booth of Ward-30.
According to All Orissa Eunuch Association (AOEA) president Pratap Sahu, it was a long standing demand of the association before the Election Commission of India (ECI) to allow Hijras to vote in the category of their own gender. “Finally, Hijras became are happy to cast votes in the ‘Others’ category in the BMC polls after getting their corrected identity cards,” AOEA general secretary Anarkali Kinnar said, adding, “Our members will contest in the General Elections 2014 too.”