Off the rolls: Third gender voter count drops 43% in Karnataka

Off the rolls: Third gender voter count drops 43% in Karnataka

Mangalore Today News Network

Bengaluru, Nov 5, 2026: The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has disproportionately affected Karnataka’s transgender community, with the number of third-gender voters dropping by 43% from 4,995 to 2,841. Overall, the exercise has reduced the state’s voter count by nearly 18%.

Members of the transgender community said the re-verification process was challenging even for educated people and particularly difficult for those without proper documentation or family support.

Before the SIR exercise, the highest concentrations of third-gender voters were recorded in Vijayanagar (183) under BBMP South, KR Pura (164) under BBMP North, Byatarayanapura (126) under BBMP Urban, CV Raman Nagar (119) under BBMP North and Mahadevapura (115) in Bengaluru Urban. The decline in these constituencies ranged from 70.4% in Mahadevapura to 82.5% in Vijayanagar.

In north Karnataka, Kalaburagi, Raichur, Vijayapura, Ballari and Koppal have sizeable transgender populations. The constituency-level decline in these districts ranged from 6% in Siruguppa in Ballari district to 56.7% in Kalaburagi.

Community leaders attributed the decline to the difficult documentation and re-verification requirements, particularly for those who had migrated from their hometowns or lost contact with their families.

Manjamma Jogathi, a prominent transgender artist, said her public recognition had helped her obtain a school certificate carrying her present name in brackets.

"As an artist, I was lucky. Several others do not have such documents. They have migrated to cities such as Bengaluru and Pune and lack proof of long-term residence," she told The Times of India.

She said the Election Commission of India (ECI) should have allowed certificates issued by Deputy Commissioners or Zilla Panchayat CEOs as proof of residence instead of insisting on the standard set of documents.

"Many have not completed their education. The lack of documentation has been the biggest hurdle for them in enrolling as voters and retaining their voting rights," she said.

Bengaluru-based transgender activist Rakshitha M said a lack of awareness about electoral rights and difficulties in obtaining official documents had further complicated the process.

"Many community members are unaware of their fundamental rights. We were told that the SIR process was mandatory, but completing it was a major challenge. Obtaining a name-change certificate, transfer certificate and marks card is particularly difficult for those without family support," she said.

Rakshitha said she could complete the process because she had been living in the same house for 16 years and possessed documents including Aadhaar, PAN card and a name-change certificate, along with a castration certificate.

"But how many people can confidently interact with officials and respond to questions such as, ’You claim to be a woman, but your voice is masculine’?" she asked.

Chandini, a transgender woman from Peenya, said repeated visits by officials to verify her documents had left her feeling discriminated against.

"The process made me feel discriminated against when officials checked my documents three times, despite my having been a registered voter for several years. At one point, I wondered whether I was being treated this way simply because I was different," she said.

She said such experiences had discouraged several members of the community from participating in the verification process.

Courtesy: Times of India