Over 500 eunuchs will be making history in the upcoming Assembly elections in Delhi. For the first time, they have been registered as bonafide voters and the ballot paper gender column will have provision for a third category, ‘Others’.
According to electoral office data, 519 eunuchs have been registered in the city’s electoral rolls till August 21. Constituencies such as Vikaspuri, Bawana and Matiala have the highest number of eunuchs as voters, while New Delhi, Malviya Nagar, Shakur Basti and Kasturba Nagar don’t have any. Sultanpur Mazra has 22 eunuchs registered as voters while Bawana has 22, Matiala 23, Vikaspuri 20, Kirari 16, Nangloi Jat 16, laxmi Nagar 15, Palam 15, Kondli 15, Viswas Nagar 12, Kalkaji 12, Adarsh Nagar 12, Narela 11, Seemapuri 10, Krishna Nagar 10, Timarpur 10, Shalimar Bagh 10 and Okhla six. North-West district has the highest number of eunuchs, at 101, while total voters in the district are 16,28,360. North-East district has 56 eunuch registered, South has 37, Central has 30, South-West has 74, East has 84, West has 69, North district has 48 and New Delhi has 20 eunuch voters.
Total voters in Delhi are 1,14, 99,758, of which 63,71,809 are male and 51,27, 430 female. According to police data, a majority of the eunuch population lives in North-West and North-East. Delhi Chief Electoral Officer Vijay Dev told The Pioneer, “This step has freed eunuchs from age-old bias and given them a new socio-political identity. In the final draft, to be ready by September 2, their number may be increased,” he said. According to Dev, bringing eunuchs on to the voter list was a priority for the Election Commission of India. “That’s why special camps were organised in districts,” he added.
According to former Delhi BJP president Dr Harsh Vardhan, giving voting rights to this neglected section of society will bring them out of their closed world. “It also means that political parties will not only woo them but also come out to attract them into their fold,” he pointed out. During the MCD polls in 2012, the State Election Commission had allowed voters mentioned in the list as “other” category gender, but they were not registered in the voters’ list.