MVA Questions Marker Pen Use in BMC Elections; Poll Body Clarifies Indelible Ink

• Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) leaders, including Clyde Crasto of NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar faction) and Congress, questioned the use of marker pens instead of traditional indelible ink in the BMC elections.
• Crasto alleged administrative lapses, with registered voters unable to find their names on electoral rolls, and criticized the Election Commission of India's 'incompetence'.
• Congress shared a video on X, asking why markers were used and expressing concern that the voting mark could be removed with sanitizer and acetone, suggesting 'rigging'.
• Maharashtra State Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare clarified that the same indelible ink used since 2011 is now applied in marker form, taking 15 seconds to dry.
• The Election Commission urged voters not to trust unverified social media content, assuring that the ink is not easily removable and all polling procedures follow established rules.

Why It Matters: MVA raised concerns over marker pen use in BMC polls, but Election Commission confirmed it's indelible ink.