The Congress leader alleged “vote chori” and accused the EC of gaslighting citizens after it emerged that indelible ink used in Maharashtra civic polls could be easily erased.
The BJP accused Gandhi of discrediting the electoral process ahead of vote counting and dismissed his allegations as politically motivated.
The Maharashtra SEC ordered a probe into the ink quality and announced it would revert to traditional indelible ink for upcoming Zilla Parishad elections.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused the Election Commission of “gaslighting citizens” amid a growing controversy over the quality of so-called indelible ink used during the Maharashtra civic polls, declaring that “vote chori is an anti-national act”. Citing the “erasable ink” claims, Gandhi said public trust in India’s democratic process was steadily eroding.
Sharing a media report on X that noted how “opposition, voters cry foul over fading ink markers”, Gandhi alleged manipulation of the electoral process and trained his guns once again on the poll body. “Election Commission gaslighting citizens is how trust has collapsed in our democracy. Vote chori is an anti-national act,” he wrote.
The Bharatiya Janata Party responded sharply, accusing Gandhi of attempting to discredit the electoral process even as vote counting was under way. BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla mocked the Congress leader with a “khandani chor” barb, alleging that he was misleading voters to pre-empt defeat.
“Bahana brigade back! Accepting defeat before counting ends?” Poonawalla said in a post on X. Accusing Gandhi of a familiar pattern, he added, “Rahul back to doing what he does best — discredit, distort and disinform. ‘Khandani chor’ now regurgitating claims of the Thackerays.”
Poonawalla also questioned the outcome of Gandhi’s earlier “vote chori” allegations during the Bihar elections, reiterating the BJP’s position that such claims were baseless and designed to mask political failures. The party has repeatedly asked why Gandhi and other leaders of the opposition INDIA bloc did not approach the courts or other constitutional forums to challenge past election results.
The political sparring comes against the backdrop of polling for 29 municipal corporations across Maharashtra, including the high-stakes Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). On polling day, social media was flooded with videos purportedly showing that the ink mark on voters’ fingers could be removed easily using chemicals such as acetone, raising fears of bogus voting. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis dismissed the allegations.
On Thursday evening, the Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) said it would conduct a thorough probe into the quality of the ink used in marker pens after opposition leaders flagged concerns. Speaking to PTI, State Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare said the SEC had decided not to use marker pens for the upcoming Zilla Parishad elections and would revert to the traditional indelible ink manufactured by Mysore Paints and Varnish Limited, a Karnataka government enterprise routinely used in Assembly and Lok Sabha polls.
“The SEC has decided to conduct a probe. It will cover not only the ink quality but also the videos circulated through the day,” Waghmare said. “The probe into the videos is to ascertain whether the ink was applied on the finger during voting or in a mischievous manner.”
He added that the commission would carry out random sampling of marker pens used across the state to verify the quality of the ink supplied. “The formula for the ink quality is finalised by the Election Commission of India, and a private company supplied the pens to the SEC,” he said.
As the investigation unfolds, the ink controversy has spilled beyond administrative scrutiny into a full-blown political slugfest, underscoring the deep mistrust that increasingly defines India’s electoral battles.