MADURAI: Transgender Bharati Kannamma is taking on DMK candidate P.T.R.P. Thiyagarajan in Madurai Central constituency in the May 16 Assembly election. While DMK has fielded Thiyagarajan pinning hopes on the popularity of his late father P.T.R. Palanivel Rajan, a former Assembly Speaker, who won from the same constituency in 2006 election, Bharati Kannamma, 54, from Madurai depends solely on youth support to face the election. “Youth will be the deciding factor in this election. I am entering into the election fray as ‘Ilaignar Kootamaippu’ candidate”, Kannamma told Deccan Chronicle.
Though Kannamma received ticket from political parties such as Samathuva Makkal Katchi, PMK and Naam Tamilar Katchi to contest under their party banner, she politely refused the offers. When Kannamma, the first transgender in the country to have contested the previous Lok Sabha election from Madurai, was contemplating contesting the Assembly election as an independent candidate, members of Ilaignar Kootamaippu approached her. “Looking at their eyes one could see their passion to make the world a better place even for the less fortunate,” she said.
Kannamma immediately connected with them because they shared the same political concerns –to improve employment opportunity for youth; total prohibition; compulsory and free education for children up to class 10 and to improve socio-economic condition of marginalised community. “I don’t accept the argument that it is not possible to implement total prohibition. When it was made possible in Gujarat, why can not we do it in Tamil Nadu,” asks Kannamma.
At least one woman would seek help from Bharati Kannamma Trust, started in 2010, in a week to protect her from her alcohol-addict husband.
“We have provided shelter to such women and took steps to reunite them with her husbands after arranging counselling for them,” said Kannamma who is also a district legal aid member. She has also planned to compensate the revenue loss if Tasmac shops are closed down in Madurai. ”I will take steps to make the temple city a tourist hub and thereby create more employment opportunities for locals. Kannamma, a post-graduate in Sociology, has worked in marketing field in various companies before being elevated as sales manager in HDFC bank. She also worked as community advisor in Tamil Nadu AIDS Initiative for many years.
