Transgender candidate in Chennai South hopes to make history

A Ganesh Nadar meets M Radha, the first transgender candidate in the fray for the Lok Sabha elections from Tamil Nadu.

Chennai South is the only constituency in the Tamil Nadu capital that will see a direct contest between arch-rivals, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Opposition DMK.

The other two constituencies -- Chennai North and Chennai Central -- will see the DMK clashing with the ruling AIADMK's alliance partners in the state.

Also in the fray from Chennai South is an Independent candidate, M Radha, who hopes to make history as the first transgender to be elected to Parliament.

However, her chances are slim, given that elections in the state are traditionally fought between the AIADMK and DMK.

A post-graduate in literature and a social worker, Radha works at an NGO that works in the area of HIV awareness and prevention.

For a living she works as a cook, as she says nobody is ready to employ her in spite of her master's degree.

She walks around the constituency to canvass votes and plans to meet 12,000 people in the days running up to the April 18 election.

"Newspapers have interviewed me, the rest of the constituency will read about me and vote," she says.

On top of her agenda is solving Chennai's water problem.

When Rediff.com spoke to her she only had a lawyer friend by her side. The rest of her supporters, she says, were away at the Cooum festival, but will join her on her campaign and on election day, April 18.

Video: A Ganesh Nadar/Rediff.com