Congress ignores eunuch in favour of female candidate

Sitting at a paan shop on Gilbert Hill at Andheri, Sheikh Ruksana Banu spends most of her time chatting away with residents. For the 55-year-old eunuch who filed her nomination for Ward 61 as an Independent, politics is just a tool to solve civic problems.

After Ruksana filed her nomination on January 10, many of her close aides dropped out the same night. “On that day I realised that many were bought,” she says. “In civic elections, it is only money that will win you votes, but it will not buy you hearts.”

Ruksana says that she opted out because she was denied a Congress berth. “But I have not lost heart,” she says. “I will continue to pester officials if they fail to carry out civic work properly.”  The Gillbert Hill resident has denied rumours that she was denied a Congress ticket from the women’s ward because she is a eunuch. “The State Election Commission (SEC) rules allow eunuchs to contest from men and  women’s wards,” she says. Ward 61, which has been reserved for women, has 55,590 registered voters, dominated by the Muslim community.

Ruksana’s interest in politics began when she met late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi 20 years ago. “She did not greet me as I was a eunuch, but I was impressed by her overall persona,” she says.  In 2002, Ruksana even fought the civic polls from Ward 61 only to secure 539 votes, thousands of votes fewer than the winning candidate, Mohasin Haider, from the Samajwadi Party, who received 4,505 votes. “We don’t know why Ruksana is not contesting the polls,” says a supporter, Rashid Ahmed. Ruksana is currently campaigning for Congress candidate Khatija Makwana.