Transgender activist Sunaina Singh to challenge BJP candidate in Dhanbad, Jharkhand

PTI, Apr 10, 2024, 10:28 AM IST

Sunaina Singh, a 35-year-old transgender, is all set to contest against BJP candidate Dulu Mahto from the Dhanbad seat in the Lok Sabha elections in Jharkhand.

A zoology graduate from Dhanbad’s P K Roy Memorial College, Singh announced her candidature from the Uttar Pradesh-based Naqi Bhartiya Ekta Party (NBEP) on Tuesday.

Dhanbad, with an electorate of 22.54 lakh including 78 third-gender voters, will go to polls on May 25. The opposition INDIA bloc is yet to announce the name of its candidate from the seat.

“No development work has been carried out in Dhanbad, a major coal supplier. Cases of murder and extortion have also increased manifold here. My agenda is clear. I would like to work for improvement in education and create employment opportunities. The unemployment rate is high in Dhanbad and even educated youths are not getting jobs. “I also want to fight against corruption, which is one of the major deterrents in the path of the state’s progress,” Singh told PTI.

Singh said initially, she wanted to contest as an independent candidate, but was later offered a ticket by the Chaudhary Zarar Ahmed Naqi-led NBEP.

Asked about funding for the polls, she said people from her community and the general public have been making donations to encourage her to fight the elections. Singh, the district president of the ‘Kinnar Maa Trust’, also expressed anguish over the “inequality against the transgender community”. “My parents abandoned me at the hospital after my birth. The state president of our community took care of me after that… I tried to find a job in Delhi, but faced a lot of discrimination. I finally returned to Dhanbad and decided to serve the people of the constituency,” Singh said.