BMC polls: Voters claim ink can be wiped with acetone; poll panel responds

Videos of voters wiping 'indelible' ink with acetone raised questions over poll transparency, but the State Election Commission and BMC said such acts are illegal

The long-delayed elections to Mumbai’s civic body began on Thursday morning, but polling was soon marked by controversy amid claims that the ink applied to voters’ fingers could be removed using acetone.

 

As voting began for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, videos circulated on social media showing voters using acetone to remove the so-called ‘indelible’ ink from their fingers. Acetone is a colourless, flammable organic solvent commonly used in nail polish removers and cleaning agents.

 

Mumbai Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP Varsha Gaikwad shared a video on X showing a party colleague using acetone to wipe off the ink. “BMC wiping off accountability? 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,” she wrote.

 

 

“My colleague and his wife here demonstrate how this ink can be easily wiped off with acetone or nail polish remover,” Gaikwad added, questioning the transparency of the civic polls.

 

She also flagged other alleged issues, including “last-minute bribes to voters going unchecked, missing names of voters, the SEC website crashing, making it difficult for voters to find their names, and ink that is being easily wiped”. 

BMC wiping off accountability?  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. My colleague @sachin_inc and his wife here demonstrate how this ink can be easily wiped off with acetone… pic.twitter.com/hprCHU7a73

— Prof. Varsha Eknath Gaikwad (@VarshaEGaikwad) January 15, 2026

 

Similar claims were raised by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray. He said the ink used earlier had been replaced with a new pen. “If you use a hand sanitiser, the ink disappears. Now, the only option left is to apply the ink, go outside, wipe it off, and then go back inside and vote again,” he said, as quoted by news agency ANI.

 

SEC, BMC respond

The Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) responded by saying that attempts to erase the ink applied to voters’ fingers are illegal and aimed at creating confusion. The poll body said that if any person is found to have removed the ink and attempted to vote again, appropriate legal action will be taken. The SEC made the clarification in a post on X in Marathi.  Also Read: BMC Elections 2026: Check voting date, time, results and poll schedule

 

The BMC also rejected the allegations, calling them factually incorrect. The civic body clarified that indelible ink is applied to a voter’s left-hand finger at the time of casting a vote on the electronic voting machine, in accordance with standard procedure, PTI reported.