Maharashtra civic polls: 'Has SEC opened nail polish agency?' Uddhav slams poll body over indelible ink row

Mumbai: Maharashtra’s high-profile municipal polls ran into a major controversy with opposition parties alleging “murder of democracy” by raising a series of concerns over the deviation from the traditional method of putting inks on fingers and using of marker pens, poor quality of indelible ink that can be wiped off using sanitisers, nail polish-removers and other chemicals like acetone.

This led to a major political slugfest as the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi — I.N.D.I.A. bloc constituents Congress, Uddhav Thackeray-headed Shiv Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) and other parties like Raj Thackeray’s MNS, Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP among others — slammed the BJP as well as the State Election Commission (SEC) and the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) over "mismanagement".

However, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who heads the BJP-led Maha Yuti dispensation, brushed aside the allegations. “I have also been marked with a marker, is it erasing?…,” he told reporters while trying to wipe it off.

“The Election Commission should look into this issue and use something else, they can use oil paint if they want, the elections should be impartial. But creating a ruckus on everything and raising questions is very wrong,” he added.

The ink has been procured from Kores India Ltd, which has been providing indelible ink for the past several decades, SEC sources said.

AICC secretary and Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant was among the first to flag the issue with a video on social media after which several other videos emerged.

“This is a demonstration of how nail polish remover removes the ink from the finger. This time, there has been gross mismanagement by the SEC. This incident is unfortunate. Who tested the ink? Wasn't proper care taken beforehand? Action must be taken against the officers,” he said.

The Thackeray cousins — Uddhav and Raj — also targeted the BJP and the SEC.

Has SEC opened nail polish agency? asks Uddhav

“It is an extremely serious issue that indelible ink gets wiped off immediately. Sanitizer or nail polish remover can be used to remove the ink. Has the SEC opened an agency for sanitizer and nail polish…this is murder of democracy,” said Uddhav, the Shiv Sena (UBT) head and former chief minister.

Is wiping ink to vote twice called 'vikas': Raj Thackeray

“The government has decided to win these elections at all costs. They are repeating what they did during the Assembly elections, but we will not let it happen. Traditionally, indelible ink was used, but now markers are being used instead. This mark is being wiped off simply with sanitizer. Coming to power through such fraudulent elections cannot be called a democracy…there should be a limit to the misuse of power. BJP leaders talk about vikas. Is wiping off ink to vote twice what they call development,” asked Raj, the MNS founder-president.

BMC wiping off accountability: Gaikwad

Mumbai Congress president Prof Varsha Gaikwad too flagged the issue. 

“Is the BMC wiping off accountability? Since morning we have been receiving several reports of how the marker ink being used to show voting has been done, is easily being wiped off. The various last minute bribes to voters going unchecked, the missing names of voters, the SEC website crashing making it difficult for voters to find their names, ink that is being easily wiped. The faith of the people in our democratic process must be protected at all costs but the election commission and the BMC seem to be completely unbothered about it,” said Prof Gaikwad, who is an MP from Mumbai.

People are being made to wipe out ink: Sule

NCP (SP) working president Supriya Sule said: "Serious malfunctions regarding EVMs are coming to light at many polling stations. In several places, after casting a vote, the light indicating whom the vote went to does not appear, and no 'beep' sound occurs even after all votes are cast.”
“In many locations, people are being made to wipe off the ink on their fingers after voting; this raises a grave question—could this be for bogus voting?There are still glitches in the polling stations and their numbering, with instances found where candidates' names were incorrect on some EVMs,” said Sule, the Baramati MP.

SEC issue clarification

Amid viral videos of indelible ink from marker pens being removed, state election commissioner Dinesh Waghmare warned that if people are found spreading fake narrative action will be taken and they would be booked.  "Attempts to remove the indelible ink applied on voters’ fingers at polling stations and thereby create confusion in the voting process are illegal. If any person is found trying to vote again after removing the ink mark, appropriate legal action will be taken against them,” he said.

“Marker ink from the Kores company has been in use since 2011. The chemical composition of the ink is also correct,” Waghmare told reporters in Mumbai. “Even if a voter attempts any malpractice by removing the ink from their finger, they cannot vote again. Necessary safeguards in this regard have already been put in place. After a voter casts their vote, an official record of the voting is maintained. Therefore, merely removing the ink does not allow a voter to vote again,” he added.

The SC had issued orders on 19 November 2011 and 28 November 2011 regarding the use of marker pens for applying ink on voters’ fingers. Since then, marker pens have been used to apply ink on voters’ fingers during elections to local self-government bodies. As per these orders, ink must be applied clearly on the voter’s finger using a marker pen. The ink should be rubbed three to four times on the nail and on the skin above the nail. These instructions were issued earlier and are also mentioned on the marker pens themselves.