Meet Ganga Nayak, the first transgender candidate to win a seat in Tamil Nadu’s local body elections

Feb 23, 2022

By: Vaamanaa Sethi

Credit: BCCL

Ganga Nayak, a 49-year old year old transgender politician created history, on Tuesday,...

...by successfully winning a seat in the Tamil Nadu urban local body elections from Vellore.

Credit: BCCL

She was declared as the winning candidate in ward 37 in the Vellore Municipal Corporation.

Credit: BCCL

According to media reports, she wasn’t the only transgender...

...who stood for this urban local elections in Tamil Nadu.

Credit: BCCL

A total of 15 trans persons had contested the urban local body polls this year reportedly,...

...out of which many stood as independent candidates.

Credit: Pixabay

Who is Ganga Nayak?

Born in a family of daily-wage workers, the 49-year old is a social and community worker and has been a member of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).

Credit: BCCL

She is also the founding member of a theatrical troupe of 50 members, which includes 30 transgenders.

Credit: BCCL

She gained popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic as she with her troupe...

...organised several awareness campaigns for vaccines across Vellore and other districts of Tamil Nadu.

Credit: BCCL

She is presently the secretary of the South India Transgender Association.

Credit: BCCL

Other than Ganga, Shabnam Bano, Kamla Jaan, Asha Devi are some of the popular transgender politicians in India

Credit: BCCL

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