Sultanpur transgender set to contest polls on Yogi’s turf
GORAKHPUR: A 35-year-old transgender from Sultanpur has decided to contest the Gorakhpur Lok Sabha bypoll to be held on March 11.
“As an Indian citizen, it’s my democratic right to contest election. I am scared of nobody and will file nomination soon. I hope to get tremendous support from voters in Gorakhpur,” Sonam Kinnar told HT over the phone on Saturday.
Hoping that any political party will give her ticket, she said if this did not happen she will enter the fray as an independent.
Sonam, however, claims that she has been associated with the Samajwadi Party for long.
Sultanpur’s Samajwadi Party unit chief Raghuvir Yadav said he had no knowledge about Sonam’s association with the party. Meanwhile, Sonam claimed to have unsuccessfully contested the Sultanpur municipality election for the post of its chairperson last year.
“People need to rise above caste and religion for the sake of development of Gorakhpur. My supporters will campaign for me after February 20, the last date of nomination,” she added.
Filing of nominations began on February 13 and the last date is February 20. Counting of votes will take place on March 14.
Meanwhile, local transgenders have threatened to protest Sonam’s decision for ‘she is an outsider’.
“Local eunuchs will oppose it,” said local transgender Prema Kinnar
“Corruption in the system can only be checked by a transgender representative and people know it well. Earlier too, Gorakhpur people have seen the work of a transgender (a reference to UP’s first transgender mayor Amarnath Yadav aka Asha Devi),” said an unfazed Sonam.
Asha Devi created history when she defeated the Samajwadi Party candidate Anju Chowdhary by over 60,000 votes in Gorakhpur mayoral election in 2000.
Gorakhpur Lok Sabha seat was vacated by Yogi Adityanath (now UP chief minister) in September last year.
He represented Gorakhpur in Lok Sabha for five terms between 1998 and 2017 before he became the UP chief minister in March last year.