Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], January 15 : Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Anil Parab on Thursday raised concerns over the voting process in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, alleging tampering with the indelible ink used to mark voters.
After casting his vote, Parab expressed his doubts about the ink's quality
Speaking to ANI, Parab said, "This is for the first time, I have never seen the ink vanishing this way. This is a marker... The ink of the election is different, and this marker is different, which can be wiped off... There is definitely some tampering..."
Parab's remarks add to a series of allegations raised by opposition leaders over the conduct of the Maharashtra civic body elections. Earlier in the day, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray claimed that complaints were being received from several places, including missing names in voter lists, use of old Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and concerns over the ink used during polling.
He alleged that the Election Commission is not doing enough to address these problems and accused the government of trying to manipulate the electoral process.
"There are many places from where complaints are coming in. Some people's names are missing from the voter list. For the first time, we are experiencing that the ink being applied can now be cleaned off. These people are creating all this mess, and that's why I said, what does the Election Commission or the Commissioner do? Old EVM machines have been installed," said Uddhav Thackeray.
Responding to the allegations, Maharashtra State Election Commissioner DT Waghmare rejected claims of wrongdoing related to the ink. He clarified that the ink being used to mark voters' fingers is indelible ink and the same as that used by the Election Commission of India in various elections. Waghmare said the only difference is that it is being applied in marker form, which has been in use since 2011. He added that the ink dries within 12 to 15 seconds and that multiple checks and balances are in place to prevent any malpractice.
Polling for civic body elections began at 7:30 am on Thursday across 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra and will continue until 5:30 pm. According to the State Election Commission, voter turnout stood at 29.22 per cent till 1:30 pm after a sluggish start earlier in the day.
Vote counting for the Maharashtra municipal corporation elections is scheduled for Friday, January 16.