The Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) elections will use marker pens instead of the traditional indelible ink to mark voters’ fingers for identification.
Officials said marker pens have been used in recent elections, replacing ink bottles due to the risk of spillage and wastage.Following the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) guidance, Mysore Paints and Varnish Ltd (MPVL)—the supplier of election ink since 1962—has adapted the same indelible ink formula into marker pen form.With 3,004 polling stations, a total of 9,012 marker pens will be distributed.
Each polling station will receive three marker pens. While one pen is sufficient for regular use, the other two will serve as backups in case the main pen runs out of ink or becomes unusable during polling hours.The marker pens are supplied by the State Election Commission and contain the same semi-permanent indelible ink traditionally used in Indian elections, now embedded in pen form for easier application.
The indelible ink formula, developed by the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), Delhi, in 1962, has been manufactured exclusively by MPVL, a Government of Karnataka undertaking and the sole authorised producer for the Election Commission.
Officials added that in cases where a voter does not have hands due to a disability, the ink will be applied on a toe.
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