‘Ordinary pen markers used’: Indelible ink row in BMC polls as wipe-off videos go viral

Controversy erupted during polling for the high-stakes BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) elections on Thursday after videos showing the so-called “indelible” ink being wiped off voters’ fingers went viral on social media, prompting sharp reactions from the Opposition even as the civic body rubbished the allegations.

Ruben Mascarenhas, AAP's (Aam Aadmi Party) working president for the party's Mumbai unit posted on X that the ink used to mark the fingers of the voters isn't the indelible ink officially used by the Election Commission. Rather, it is the ink from ordinary marker pens.

Several clips circulating online showed voters, politicians and journalists using acetone — commonly found in nail-polish removers — to remove the ink mark applied after voting. The videos quickly triggered questions over the integrity of polling safeguards meant to prevent multiple voting.

Mumbai Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP Varsha Gaikwad was among those to raise the issue publicly, sharing a video of her party colleague demonstrating how the ink mark could be erased.

“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,” Gaikwad said in a post on X, alleging that the situation raised serious concerns about accountability and transparency in the conduct of the civic polls.

She also flagged what she described as a series of systemic lapses — from alleged last-minute inducements to voters and missing names on electoral rolls to technical glitches on the State Election Commission website — arguing that public faith in the democratic process was being undermined.

The issue gained further traction after a journalist from a television channel posted a video from his studio showing the ink mark on his finger being removed with acetone shortly after he returned from casting his vote in Panvel, which is also going to the polls.

The BMC, despite having no authority to deny such wrongdoings, dismissed the claims, terming the reports “factually incorrect” and insisted that established procedures were being followed at polling stations. Officially, only the Election Commission can refute such an allegation.

The controversy has sharpened the political battle around the Mumbai civic polls, with opposition parties accusing the authorities of being lax in enforcing electoral safeguards, while the ruling establishment has countered that isolated demonstrations using chemicals are being exaggerated to cast aspersions on the entire process.

With turnout and credibility under close scrutiny in what is being seen as a prestige contest for control of India’s richest municipal body, election officials said they were monitoring the situation and urged voters not to be swayed by what they called “selective and sensationalised” social media content.

As voting continued through the day, the ink controversy added yet another flashpoint to an already heated civic election, underscoring how even routine electoral procedures are now subject to intense public and political scrutiny in the age of viral videos.