Indelible marker pens set to replace ink

Karnataka State Election Commissioner P N Srinivasachari has said that indelible marker pens would replace indelible ink in the upcoming elections for local bodies in the state.

Speaking to reporters during his visit to Mysore Paints and Varnish Limited (MPVL) on Friday, Srinivasachari said that MPVL has developed indelible marker pens in place of indelible ink, which is in use at present. MPVL produces and supplies indelible ink for elections.

“We plan to replace ink with marker pens. A decision will be taken in this regard after discussing about the pros and cons,” the commissioner said.

If all goes well, marker pens will be used to apply ink on voters’ fingers from the upcoming polls for local bodies, including, corporations, zilla panchayats, taluk panchayats, and grama panchayats in 2018. When the reporters asked whether the pens would be used in the Assembly elections, the Commissioner said that the Election Commission of India (ECI) is the deciding body for the Assembly polls.

According to MPVL Chairman H A Venkatesh, a bottle containing 10 ML of indelible ink can be used for 750 voters but the pen can be used for 1,000 people. A bottle of ink costs Rs 142.45, but the cost of the pen will be much lesser, he said.

MPVL Managing Director Siddalingappa B Pujari said that marker pens have been tested at the National Chemical Laboratory in Pune, a report of which has been submitted to the government.

Ballot paper pens
Venkatesh said that MPVL has supplied novel ballot paper pens for the recently concluded Presidential elections. “We received good response from the ECI. As many as 1,000 pens were supplied for the polls. MPVL, a Karnataka government undertaking, has been supplying indelible ink to all states in India and even to some foreign countries,” he said.

Venkatesh said that the company has made substantial progress in the sales of new polyurethane paints. “The company has initiated measures for modernisation of the production unit and also basic infrastructure,” he said.

Siddalingappa Pujari said that MPVL has taken measures for obtaining ISI certification, has applied for a certificate from the Research Design and Scientific Organisation, Lucknow (RDSO), and has also applied for registration with the Association of State Road Transport Undertakings (ASRTU) for business development.

Polls for local bodies
P N Srinivasachari said that the State Election Commission has asked the state government to take up delimitation process for municipal councils, municipalities and city corporations as the first phase of the election for these local bodies would be held in September 2018. The government has already completed the delimitation process of 100 municipalities, he said.