BJP, Cong lock horns over ink row in Maha civic polls

New Delhi: Amid the row over the quality of ‘indelible’ ink used in marker pens in Maharashtra civic polls, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday asserted that “vote chori is an anti-national act” and accused the Election Commission of gaslighting citizens.

Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) on Thursday evening said it would conduct a thorough probe into the quality of the ‘indelible’ ink in marker pens used for the civic polls, after opposition leaders alleged that the mark on a voter’s finger could be removed easily, enabling bogus voting.

Amid polling for 29 municipal corporations, including the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), social media was flooded with videos claiming to demonstrate how the ink could be removed using chemicals such as acetone, even as Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis dismissed the claims.

Gandhi shared on X a media report on the row which stated that “opposition, voters cry foul over fading ink markers”. “Election commission gaslighting citizens is how trust has collapsed in our democracy. Vote Chori is an anti-national act,” Gandhi said in his post on X.

State Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare said that in view of the controversy, the SEC will not use marker pens for the upcoming Zilla Parishad elections but revert to the traditional ink .

Meanwhile, the BJP attacked Rahul with a “khandani chor” barb, accusing him of misleading people by discrediting the Maharashtra civic poll process while the counting of votes was underway.

Reacting to Gandhi’s remarks, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla, in a post on X, said: “Bahana (excuse) brigade back! Accepting defeat before counting ends?” “Rahul Back to doing what he does best -- discredit, distort and misinform. ‘Khandani chor’ now regurgitating claims of Thackerays,” he charged.