Five Things To Know About Anannyah Kumari Alex's Nomination Withdrawal

Kerala Transgender candidate Anannyah Kumari Alex withdraws nomination: Anannyah Kumari Alex, a candidate from Vengara constituency, has withdrawn from the assembly election campaign citing mental harassment and verbal abuse from her party leaders. Alex, who is affiliated to the Democratic Social Justice Party (DSJP) claimed she is receiving death threats.

Alex was the first transgender candidate in the Kerala Assembly Polls, contesting against Muslim League candidate PK Kunhalikutty and Left Democratic Front candidate P Jiji.

Here are five things to know about Anannyah Kumari Alex's withdrawal from the poll fray:

1. Alex claimed that she decided to quit after facing verbal abuse at hands of a DSJP leader. Before announcing her exit on Friday, she had also complained about the situation to the DSJP leadership. Alex claimed that the party leadership "refused to take action against the person who abused" her verbally. "So I have decided to quit from election campaigning,” she said.

2. 28-year-old Alex said she was forced by the party leaders to wear "Purdah" as Vengara is a Muslim-dominated area. According to her, the party fielded her in Vengara to gain publicity. "The Election Commission should conduct an investigation about all the candidates of this party,” she added. She claimed that the harassment started following her refusal to abide by the instructions to observe purdah. "I would not do anything which would surrender my personality," she stated.

3. Her decision to end her election campaign was also a result of death threats as well. Alex alleged that DSJP leaders threatened to kill her when she opposed them. "They portrayed me as a prostitute and insulted me," Alex alleged. She is Kerala's first transgender radio jockey

4. Anannyah Kumari Alex said her main agenda to contest in the election was to "ensure representation and equality for transgender people in Kerala". However, she stated that the party had used her and had "some plans and reasons for putting me in the front. But I didn't understand that earlier. I have a personality and my own opinions, and I am not ready to surrender that,” she claimed.

5. According to Alex, she was not DSJP's first choice as a transgender candidate to fight in the Kerala Assembly elections. "Initially, they had considered another famous transgender. As she refused the offer to become a candidate of the party, they approached me,” said Alex, who is also a professional makeup artist and a news anchor employed at a private channel. Read who is Anannyah Kumari Alex?

Feature Image Credit: ANI