Transgender Candidate Bala is Ready to Fight MP Polls From Indore

I wish to fight for an inclusive world for all.

Bala didi hopes to be the ‘auto’-matic choice for the Madhya Pradesh elections. 

(Photo: The Quint)

Video Editor: Rahul Sanpui

Camera: Neeraj Gupta and Kritika Goyal

“Whenever I go out on the streets, I feel I am better off than a lot of people. But what can I do for these people? So I thought, how could I help them, how can I be their voice? That’s when I decided to contest the polls.”

I was pained to see the disparity in my constituency. A hope for inclusivity – given my own identity as a transperson – has emboldened me to test the electoral waters in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh for the first time.

I filed my nomination papers as an independent candidate in Indore 2 assembly constituency in early November. However, my journey has not been smooth.

From the beginning, my political ambitions were not aligned with what the kinnar community wanted.

“People of my community objected. They said that if I contest the polls, I will be asked to leave the group. They are like my family and I have left them. It has pained me to leave them behind.”

Bala 

Despite the hurt it caused me, it was my passion to bring a conducive change. I hope every individual can live a life of dignity.