The Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) has submitted for chemical testing samples of the indelible ink pens that were used in the recently concluded municipal corporation elections after criticism over the use of sub-standard ink that could easily be rubbed off from fingers.
“We have taken random samples from areas that reported the complaints of ink being rubbed off and also from areas that have not seen any complaints,” a senior SEC official said.
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The samples include ink pens that were used during the polls and those that were not. “The testing will confirm the chemical formula of the ink used in those pens,” the official said.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has prescribed a set chemical formula for the indelible ink to be used in the election process to apply on voters’ fingers. The chemical analysis will determine whether the set formula was followed or not.
Based on the findings of testing, further action will be initiated. The SEC has already announced that it will not be using ink pens for the upcoming Zilla Parishad polls, and will instead use traditional ink.
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A massive controversy had erupted over allegations that the ink applied on voters’ fingers during the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections could be wiped off easily, prompting the SEC to order a probe and announce that marker pens will not be used in the upcoming Zilla Parishad elections.
“The State Election Commission has decided to probe into the ink used in the marker pens. The probe will cover the ink quality and the videos that were circulated throughout the day. The probe into videos is to ascertain whether the ink on the finger was applied while voting or in a mischievous way,” State Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare had told The Indian Express.
An election officer uses a marker pen on a voter's finger at the centre set up at the Kroot School in Pune's Wanawadi. (Express Photo/Arul Horizon) 
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