Bharathi Kannamma hopes to win Madurai mayor’s post in second attempt

Bharathi Kannamma, a transgender woman and resident of Vilakuthoon, Madurai, is vying for the top position in Madurai Corporation in the upcoming local bodies elections. It would be her second attempt in the much-awaited mayoral election after she contested in 2016. Though Kannamma conceded defeat last time, she’s eager to win the mayoral throne in the approaching civic elections.

With a doctorate in sociology from Madurai Kamaraj University and above all Kannamma wants to prove a point that transpersons can be able administrators. No doubt, the transpersons would be a major part of the population in coming days and also the part of the government by 2030, be it state or Centre, she said and added that the society has lost credibility among men and women and transpersons are much relied on due to their unselfish contributions.

Being the first Member of Lok Adalat in India, she argued for plaintiffs for compromise in a total of 663 cases, including six trans persons in the court of law over the last six years now. Most of the cases were concerned about domestic problems.

Transgender women are certainly talented, Kannamma, who speaks six Indian languages, including Tamil and English, said she’s expecting competition in the upcoming election to be similar to that of 2016 when 31 candidates were in the fray for the mayoral post. “I was the only transgender woman among those in the fray and bagged 1,323 votes. My top priority, if I am voted to power, is to abolish casteism, the disparity in religious temperament, and male-female sex disparity, especially to end male chauvinism,” she told DT Next. Further, Kannamma added she’s often motivated to fight for the cause of women.