The voters’ list for the April 26 Lok Sabha polls in Kerala shows that the number of overseas (NRI) and transgender electors has gone up compared to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Kerala has 89,839 NRI voters and 367 transgender electors as per the final list published on April 4 by the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO-Kerala).
The number of NRI voters has gone up by 2,191. Of the 89,839 NRI voters, the vast majority, 83,765, are men. Female electors in this category number 6,065 and NRI transgender electors nine.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, 87,648 NRI voters were registered in the Kerala rolls. This included 82,339 men, 5,296 women, and 13 transgender voters. At the same time, compared to the 2021 Assembly elections held in April 2021, their numbers have dipped somewhat. The voters’ list for the 2021 Assembly polls had 93,415 voters in this category with 87,318 men, 6,086 women, and 11 transgender voters.
CEO-Kerala Sanjay Kaul said the decrease in the number compared to 2021 could be on account of the general ‘clean-up’ of the rolls undertaken since then. The exercise was meant to remove absent, shifted, and deceased (ASD) voters and to avoid duplication of names. As per the latest update, 2,01,417 individuals had been removed from the electoral rolls.
As per the electoral roll for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Kozhikode has by far the highest number of NRI voters (35,793). Malappuram stands second with 15,121 voters, and Kannur third with 13,875 voters. Idukki has the lowest of 325.
In the run-up to the 18th Lok Sabha elections, the Union Government had urged all NRI voters to exercise their franchise without fail. They can vote by producing their passport at the polling station. NRI voters are those voters who reside abroad for purposes such as education or employment but have not acquired any other country’s citizenship.
As per the final list for the April 26 polls, Kerala has 2,77,49,159 voters, of whom 1,43,33,499 are women, 1,34,15,293 are men, and 367 are transgender voters.
The number of transgender voters has shown an encouraging increase since 2019 with the current electorate consisting of 367 voters in this category.
In 2019, Kerala had 174 transgender voters. In fact, members of the transgender community cast their first votes registered as the ‘third gender’ in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in Kerala. The number rose to 290 for the Assembly elections in 2021.
All 14 districts have transgender voters for the April 26 polls. Thiruvananthapuram has the highest number (94), followed by Kozhikode (52), Malappuram (43), Thrissur (35) and Ernakulam (31). Wayanad has the lowest (5).
