Special violet ink marker pens are issued by the Election Commission for the upcoming Presidential elections on 17 July. The decision to issue a pen to all the voters was taken as a safety measure to ensure no votes are declared invalid and the election is executed corruption free.
Earlier all the MPs and MLAs were allowed to take their own pen to mark for the desired candidate during the voting, but now all the voters will have to submit theu=ir pens before entering the election room. The pens will be returned to them after the voting. They will be allowed to vote using only the violet-inked pen provided by the returning officers.
Mysore Paints and Varnish Ltd (MPVL), a government of Karnataka undertaking is the sole supplier of indelible ink for elections and the special violet marker pens will be provided by them to the centre.
Taking record of the past event when issue sparked in the Haryana Assembly during the Rajya Sabha polls held last year alleging that the votes were declared invalid for marking their preferences with different colored pens.
The Presidential elections will be held on 17 July and the results will be announced on 20 July. Incumbent President Pranab Mukherjee will vacate the office on 24 July. NDA candidate Ram Nath Kovind and Opposition’s candidate Meira Kumar will be contending the elections.