Over 500 transgenders voters registered in Punjab after special campaign

A total of 507 voters in Punjab have enrolled themselves as belonging to the third gender, Punjab's Chief Electoral Officer S Karuna Raju said Tuesday. "A special campaign was launched to reach out to Deras and other places where they (transgenders) reside in order to register them as voters," Raju added.

The number of voters who have declared themselves as transgenders has increased considerably in the state, he said. The state has also seen a considerable rise in the number of young, first-time voters with a total of 2,55,887 youths in 18-19 age group registering themselves as voters.

In 2014 Lok Sabha polls, only around 65,000 persons in 18-19 age bracket had got themselves registered as voters, he said. As per the projected census, there are 9,47,900 persons who are in the age bracket of 18-19 in Punjab.

CEO, Punjab said there were a total of 2,03,74,375 voters in the state as on January 31, 2019. It comprised 1,07,54,157 males, 96,19,711 females and 507 of the third gender. In the year 2015, the number of transgender voters was 240.

The chief electoral officer said special emphasis was also laid on registering non-resident Indians (NRIs) as voters. He said he has been urging Punjabi diaspora through every possible medium to get themselves registered as NRI voters. In comparison to 169 NRI voters in the year 2014, their strength has grown to 393 in Punjab.

(With inputs from agencies.)