Maharashtra Election Commission writes to state government over ink marking at banks

The State Election Commission of Maharashtra (SECM) has written to the Chief Secretary of the state, Swadheen Kshatriya, citing concern over the use of indelible ink to mark those exchanging the old currency notes at banks, in view of the upcoming civic polls in the state.

The ink should not be applied to left-hand fingers of a person so as to avoid confusion during voting, it said.

Election Commission of India (ECI) has also written to the Union government on the same issue.

"SECM has said the ink mark should not be applied to the fingers of the left hand (at banks while swapping demonetized notes)," an official of the poll regulatory authority said.

During elections, indelible ink is applied to a finger of the left hand after a person casts the ballot, to prevent repeat voting.

Elections to 192 municipal councils and 20 Nagar panchayats will be held in four stages - on November 27, December 14 and 18 and January 8.