Marker pens banned from district parishad elections after BMC poll controversy

The Maharashtra State Election Commission ordered a ban on the use of marker pens for inking in the upcoming district (zila) parishad elections .

 This new rule will come into effect from the upcoming Zilla Parishad elections. This comes after controversy surrounding the BMC (Brihanmumbai  Municipal Corporation) elections, where several claims were made that marker ink could be removed instantly.

There were complaints that the 'indelible ink' was not applied to voters' fingers after casting their votes, and it could be  removed afterwards.. 

The issue gained momentum when MNS candidate from Kalyan, Urmila Tambe, was the first to raise the issue. She alleged that the Election Commission was deliberately using such weak ink to benefit the ruling party and enable fake voting.

When media personnel investigated this after Urmila Tambe's complaint, it was found that the ink was immediately cleaned off as soon as acetone was applied to the finger.

Uddhav Thackeray's attack

Opposition Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray targeted the Election Commission. He alleged that the ink applied on the finger after voting is easily erased, citing shortcomings in the election process. The Election Commission should be held accountable for this matter.

On the other hand, BMC Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani has also admitted that the mark made with marker pen is not permanent and can be easily erased. However, the Election Commission's Public Relations Officer (PRO) defended it and said, “This is an old method in local body elections. Marker pens have been used in elections since 2012 and the same method has been adopted this time too.”

Rahul Gandhi's 'vote chori' allegations

Regarding this controversy, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi took a  stand on social media and said, “Election commission gaslighting citizens is how trust has collapsed in our democracy. He again raised the ‘Voter “Chori’ allegation on election commission by adding “Vote Chori is an anti-national act.”

Clarification from the authorities and the Election Commission

The Maharashtra State Election Commission has said, 'Creating misunderstanding among voters by trying to erase the ink on the finger is a kind of malpractice. Apart from this, if any person erases the ink on the finger and goes to vote again, strict legal action will be taken against him.' The State Election Commission has also made it clear that a voter who tries to erase the ink will not be able to vote again under any circumstances.

The Maharashtra State Election Commission further said, “Sufficient precautions are already being taken in this regard. A record of the voting of every voter is kept, so it is not possible to vote again by simply erasing the ink. Strict instructions have been given to all the officials to be vigilant in this regard.”