Voters won’t be able to tamper with indelible ink for days

Mysore Paints and Varnish Limited (MVPL), the only company in India authorised to produce the indelible ink, has come up with a new ink that is almost impossible to be erased for a few days.

The ink, to be used in the May 12 Assembly elections, will last for four to five days.

The demand for the improved indelible ink arose as the Election Commission learnt that many voters were wiping off the ink soon after exercising their franchise so that they could vote again, MVPL and Election Commission officials said on the condition of anonymity.

In order to stay one step ahead of unscrupulous elements, the MVPL improved the indelible ink by changing its natural and chemical composition. MVPL officials, however, refused to give more details citing security reasons.

Chandrashekhar Doddamani, Managing Director, MPVL, said the company had been manufacturing and supplying indelible ink for elections since 1962. The demand for the ink has increased so much that tests are under way to create indelible ink markers for children during the pulse polio programme.

The MVPL has supplied 1.32 lakh 10-ml bottles of indelible ink on the directions of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Karnataka, Doddamani said and added that the company was ready to supply more if required. The bottles were dispatched to the Bengaluru office in the second week of April and have been kept under high security. There were no orders for indelible markers, he said. The MVPL also supplied 20,000 sachets of wax to the Election Commission. The company hopes to make a profit from sales as the number of voters and demand is on the rise.