CHENNAI: A high-intensity, month-long Assembly election campaign drew to a close on Tuesday evening, with J Munirathinam of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam emerging as the only candidate with a disability fielded by any major political party in the state.
Contesting from Kancheepuram's Uthiramerur constituency, Munirathinam has drawn attention to the limited representation of persons with disabilities (PwDs) in electoral politics, prompting calls for greater inclusion.
The candidate told DT Next that he was proud to represent PwDs and the general public. Munirathinam, a Sriperumbudur resident, has been engaged in public service and associated with the Vijay Makkal Iyakkam since 2007.
He has 50 per cent disability and has been using callipers for over 10 years. He said he got used to callipers gradually and relied on them extensively while campaigning for over 10 hours a day. He added that, if elected, he would prioritise welfare measures for the PwD community.
TMN Deepak Nathan, state secretary of the Differently-Abled Wing of the DMK, said political parties often view PwDs as a vote bank rather than encouraging leadership from within the community. He said candidates contesting elections should actively raise issues affecting PwDs.
He noted that India is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, ratified on October 1, 2007, which mandates ensuring political rights, including accessibility in voting. However, he said there has been inadequate encouragement for PwDs to contest elections.
B Jansirani, general secretary of the Tamil Nadu Association for the Rights of All Types of Differently Abled and Caregivers, said that according to the 2011 Census, India has over 2.68 crore persons with disabilities, including more than 12 lakh in Tamil Nadu. She said candidates from the PwD community would be better placed to understand and articulate their challenges.
She raised concerns over the implementation of welfare measures, stating that the TN RIGHTS Project has not been fully implemented and that several reservation policies remain on paper. She pointed out that the mandated 4 per cent reservation for PwDs in government departments has not been uniformly implemented. She also questioned the lack of progress on the proposed 5 per cent reservation in the private sector and the absence of any specific reservation for PwDs in Assembly elections.
Disability rights activists further said that while the Election Commission of India has taken steps such as providing ramps at polling booths, several accessibility-related concerns remain unresolved.