My Polling Booth in Pune Used a Marker Instead of Indelible Ink

My trip to Pune after Easter celebrations with my in-laws to exercise my democratic right to vote took me by surprise.

My polling booth was at ZP Primary School Kirkatwadi, Khadakwasla, which falls under the Baramati constituency, booth number 355.

So far so good. My name was on the voters list. Phew!

I went inside the booth to cast my vote. Inside the booth there were already six people present, who were probably on duty today. I showed my voter ID and Aadhaar card as proof. The next four minutes were probably the longest minutes of my life. The booth officers were busy with some paper work and I just stood there like an obedient child. Then, one of the duty officers asked me to show my finger for him to mark with the indelible ink.

What I saw next really shocked me. I was surprised to see the booth official using a marker pen to mark my finger! I couldn’t believe what I just saw.

I asked him why he was using this when he should be using indelible ink? What angered me more was that I could clearly see a small pink bottle of indelible ink placed on the table.

His only response was, “Now we use this only.” I looked at his colleagues and they nodded their head in agreement. I said to them that this marker ink would be easily removable, hearing which he argued that that would not be the case. I checked the marker and it was manufactured by a popular brand, Camlin, which is available in any stationary store. I agreed to ink my finger with it and cast my vote with EVM and also verified the same VVPAT. Met an old friend outside and he also said that the Camlin marker had been used on his finger.

As I had left my mobile at home due to EC rules, I couldn’t click the picture then – but immediately took a photo when I reached home. It did not take even a minute to remove the marker ink under water – as seen in the video.

I asked all my friends and relatives on Facebook how they had been marked, and they all said that they had been marked with indelible ink. This incident has truly left me questioning the power of my vote.

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