As polling began for the high-stakes Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections on Thursday, social media was abuzz with videos showing voters, politicians and journalists allegedly wiping off the so-called “indelible” ink from their fingers using acetone after casting their votes.
However, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation dismissed the claims, calling media reports about the ink being removed during the civic polls “factually incorrect”.
Acetone, a colourless and highly volatile organic solvent commonly used in nail polish removers and cleaning agents, is known for its ability to dissolve a wide range of substances.
Congress Leaders Share Video
Mumbai Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP Varsha Gaikwad shared a video on X showing her party colleague removing the ink mark from his finger using acetone.
“BMC wiping off accountability? Since morning, we have been receiving several reports that the marker ink used to indicate voting can be easily wiped off. My colleague and his wife demonstrate how this ink disappears with acetone or nail polish remover,” Gaikwad wrote.
She further alleged lapses in the conduct of the elections, citing unchecked inducements to voters, missing names from electoral rolls, technical glitches on the State Election Commission website, and the alleged failure of indelible ink. “The faith of people in our democratic process must be protected at all costs, but the election commission and the BMC appear completely unbothered,” she added.
Separately, a television journalist also posted a video from his studio showing the ink mark being wiped off with acetone after returning from Panvel, where he had voted in the civic polls.
Responding to the controversy, the BMC said that polling staff follow standard procedure, under which indelible ink is applied to the voter’s left-hand finger at the polling station at the time of voting on the electronic voting machine. The civic body reiterated that claims of the ink being removable were incorrect.