Maharashtra civic polls | Videos of ‘indelible’ ink getting wiped off go viral, BMC rubbishes claims

Mumbai: As voting for the high-stakes Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections got underway on Thursday, social media was flooded with videos of common voters, politicians and mediapersons using Acetone to wipe off the ‘indelible’ ink on their fingers after voting.

The BMC, however, rejected reports claiming that the ink marks on voters' fingers were being wiped off during the ongoing civic polls.

Acetone is a colourless, volatile and flammable organic solvent with a sweet, pungent odour, widely used in nail polish removers, paint thinners, and cleaning agents due to its ability to dissolve many substances.

Mumbai Congress leader and Lok Sabha member Varsha Gaikwad posted a video of her party colleague using Acetone to wipe off the ink from his finger.

“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. My colleague and his wife here demonstrate how this ink can be easily wiped off with acetone or nail polish remover,” she posted on X.

“The management of the #BMCElection2026 this time raises several questions about accountability and transparency. 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. Shame!” Gaikwad wrote on X.

A journalist from a TV channel posted a video of wiping off the ink using Acetone in his studio, shortly after returning from Panvel, where he cast his vote in the civic polls there.

Reacting to the claims of the ink being wiped off, the BMC said in a statement that such media reports were factually incorrect.

As per procedure, polling staff apply indelible ink to one finger of the voter's left hand at the time of casting the vote on the electronic voting machine at the polling station, it said.