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Indelible ink: Siddaramaiah asks EC to actSiddaramaiah said the EC must act with “transparency, accountability and corrective measures now”.
DHNS
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<div class="paragraphs"><p>Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah.&nbsp;</p></div>

Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah. 

Credit: PTI File Photo

Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday flagged “weakening basic safeguards” and asked the Election Commission (EC) to show transparency amid reports that the indelible ink used in Maharashtra’s municipal elections could be erased with sanitiser and acetone.

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“...media reports and viral social media videos from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation polls show so-called ‘indelible’ ink being wiped off easily with sanitiser, acetone and other agents, raising grave concerns about electoral credibility - concerns echoed across Maharashtra and beyond,” Siddaramaiah said in a tweet. 

“This is not an isolated glitch - it’s another troubling chapter in the larger story of Vote Chori, where genuine questions are met with denial, deflection, or silence, and trust in democratic institutions is eroded,” he said, adding: “Democracy survives only when every vote is sacred and its safeguards are real.”

Siddaramaiah said the EC must act with “transparency, accountability and corrective measures now”.

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(Published 17 January 2026, 02:55 IST)