“Arvind Kejriwal bears the blemish of running away from Delhi governance and the spectre of 2002 Gujarat riots is still dogging the image of Modi, but I have a spotless image,” Kamala said in her appeal to vote for her.
“Benares is the city of Lord Shiva, who had also assumed the ‘ardhnarishwara’ form (a composite form of Lord Shiva and his wife Goddess Parvati). And, according to ‘Shahstra’ and ‘Puranas’, the ‘kinnar’ (transgender) community is called ‘ardhnirshwar’. So, please support me and vote for me,” Kamla said.
“I am a ‘kinner’, so I have no family. In the last 60-odd years after Independence, either a man or a woman has ruled the country and generated scams after scams. You will get a dynasty-free leader in me and set a new precedent for the betterment of the country.”
She said her community offered blessings to people on happy occasions and now it was the time for the people to reciprocate with their votes. Kamla heads the transgenders association in Poorvanchal.
Her election organiser Vikram Bhardwaj said by April 10, about 20,000 transgenders from different parts of India will be gathering in Varanasi to campaign for Kamla.
“If the Election Commission allows, we will take a padyatra (door-to-door campaign) in the city, asking people to drop their votes in their “jholi” (bags),” Bhardwaj said, adding “many influential parties have tried to buy Kamla’s support as they failed to stop her from making a foray into the race.”
“A conference of eunuchs from states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh was held earlier in Gorakhpur and we then took the decision to name Kamla for the ‘Battle for Benares’, despite lakhs of rupees being offered to withdraw her candidature,” Bhardwaj said.
