G. Devi, a 33-year-old transgender person and social worker, is all set to take on the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa in R.K. Nagar constituency, as a candidate of Seeman’s Naam Tamizhar Katchi (NTK).

She is the second person from the transgender community to file her candidacy this time. A few days ago, M Anushiyasree filed her nominations from Madurai.

Devi has always been active in the political scenario, previously, she was the deputy secretary of Sarath Kumar’s All India Samathuva Makkal Katchi’s Salem division. The party had won two seats from the region in the 2011 elections.

Her decision to join the NTK came after she was denied seats by all the major parties. The caretaker of the ‘Thaai Madi’ trust (which works for underprivileged kids) is aware of the fact that her prospects to win are very limited. But Devi treats this as an opportunity to give a wake-up call to politicians that “even transgenders can enter the
electoral politics to secure their rights.”