Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], April 19 (ANI): The ink-stained index finger is the hallmark of our electoral process, a symbol of pride in exercising the right to vote in a democratic process.
With just six days remaining for the Lok Sabha elections in the state’s 20 constituencies, indelible ink, a symbol of consent, has reached all distribution centres across the state. Chief Electoral Officer Sanjay Kaul said that 63,100 bottles of ink will be used for the Lok Sabha elections in the state, ensuring a fair and transparent election by preventing fraudulent voting, Chief Electoral Officer Sanjay Kaul said in a press release.
“This time, there are 2,77,49,159 voters in the state. The purpose of applying the ink on the voter’s index finger is to prevent them from voting multiple times. This system helps to block fraudulent votes. Once applied, the ink, which dries in about forty seconds, cannot be washed off and will naturally fade over a few days after the polling day,” Chief Electoral Officer Sanjay Kaul said.
He further said that for the 25,231 polling booths in the state, more than double the required bottles of ink have been delivered. “The election commission spent approximately 1.3 crore rupees to procure the necessary ink from the Mysore Paints and Varnish Company (MPVL), owned by the government of Karnataka,” he said.
Each bottle contains ten milli-litres of ink, sufficient to mark approximately 700 voters. It is the responsibility of the second polling officer to apply the ink on the left index finger of the voters after the first polling officer has identified the voter. The second officer will ensure there are no existing marks from ink on the finger and will then mark from the fingertip to the first joint with a brush.
The exclusive rights to manufacture this ink in India belong to Mysore Paints and Varnish Company. This practice of using indelible ink began with the 1962 Lok Sabha elections and has been used in all subsequent elections. The formula used in this special voting ink was developed by the National Physical Laboratory of India. (ANI)
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