A landmark decision on people who were born male but subsequently changed their gender to female to contest the local polls from the female-reserved segments is likely to be taken on Saturday, with the returning officer (RO) for the Thiruvananthapuram panchayat district election deciding on the candidate’s representation.
The District Collector, Thiruvananthapuram, who is the RO for the Thiruvananthapuram district panchayat, will accept the representation of Amaya Prasad, a male by birth who later changed his gender to female after gender reassignment surgery, seeking correction of his gender as female on the Electoral Photographic Identification Card (EPIC) issued by the Election Commission.
“My gender is still listed as transgender in EPIC, though I have submitted all relevant documents to update it. I have also approached the gender update commission. I have approached the RO to clarify my gender, female, as I am contesting from Pothencode division of Thiruvananthapuram panchayat district, which is reserved for women,” she said.
Gender identification as female is essential to the acceptance and verification of a nomination filed for an election in a division reserved for women, according to her representation. She also made sure that her candidacy would be rejected if her gender was not updated. She pointed out that the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act and Rules are silent on these aspects.
The Kerala High Court directed Ms. Prasad to approach the RO in this matter.
Representing the RO, Ms. Prasad sought to be recognized as a candidate for “all election-related processes, including scrutiny of nominations and verification of voters’ list” to challenge the Pothencode division.
In the list of voters prepared by the commission, the gender of the voters is indicated as male, female or transgender person. However, the candidate, who has legally changed her gender to female, wants her gender identified as female in all election-related matters. “The MA is the statutory authority to decide on the matter, and the provisions of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act of 2019 are relevant in the given matter,” sources from the election commission said.
Another candidate
Besides Ms. Prasad, another transgender candidate, Arunima M. Kurup, the Congress candidate in Vayalar division of Alapuzha panchayat district, is also contesting the local polls this time.
Any complaints regarding the gender of such candidates can only be dealt with by the Kerala High Court as the commission has no role to play in the matter, sources said.
Published – 21 Nov 2025 20:42 IST
