Transgenders in poll fray

BHUBANESWAR: Head of All Odisha Transgender Welfare Trust and social activist Meera Parida joined the ruling BJD on Sunday in presence of party supremo and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
After Joining BJD, Meera said it was a proud moment for her as no ruling party in the State had given chance to a transgender to join politics earlier. On her plans to contest the upcoming polls, Meera said, “If the party president asks me to, I will definitely.”

Sources said Meera is keen to contest the polls from Begunia Assembly segment and has expressed her willingness for the same before the BJD supremo. 
On Saturday, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) had named a transgender in its first list of candidates for the upcoming elections in Odisha. The party will field Kajal Nayak from Korei Assembly seat in Jajpur district as its candidate. 

BSP leader Krushna Chandra Sagaria told this paper that the party has taken this decision for the betterment of transgender community in Odisha and to bring them into the mainstream of the society. “BSP has given ticket to Kajal as it believes in social empowerment of all communities,” he said. 
State vice-president of BJP Samir Mohanty said the saffron party is also looking for such faces for the elections to ensure proper representation of all sections of the society in politics. The Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) 2011 had pegged the transgender population in Odisha at around 48,000.