http://www.asiaone.com/News/Latest+News/Asia/Story/A1Story20090508-140160.html
Fri, May 08, 2009
tabla!
Middle finger voting
[Photo - Finger power... the Bachchan family (from left: Jaya, Aishwarya, Amitabh and Abhishek) show proof of their voting.]
IN FEBRUARY this year, some people in Maharashtra voted in the local body bypolls... and had the index finger of their left hand marked with indelible ink.
So, to prevent confusion, officials overseeing the voting in the state for the current elections have been dabbing the voters' middle fingers with the ink, reported Hindustan Times.
"It was pointed out that the mark of the indelible ink on the forefinger, put during the local body polls, is still there. Therefore, the Election Commission gave permission to the state CEO to put the mark this time on the middle finger," an election official told The Times Of India.
Normally, election officers inspect the index finger on the voter's left hand to ensure the person has not cast a vote already, and then apply indelible ink as a line from the top end of the nail to the bottom of the first joint of the finger. Before February 2006, the ink was applied just on the area where the nail meets the skin.
The middle finger has been used before... for proxy voters, who vote on behalf of defence personnel. In these cases, the voter's index finger is marked for his own vote and the middle finger for the proxy vote.
In Maharashtra, they marked proxy voters' ring finger for these elections.
The middle finger rule isn't applied everywhere. In Jammu and Kashmir, where assembly polls were held in December last year, election officials stuck to the index finger for the first three phases of polls. Ditto for Uttar Pradesh, where by elections were held in February.
As for the indelible ink, which dries up in 60 seconds and remains for a few months, it is made by Mysore Paints and Varnish Limited specially for elections in India and many other countries like South Africa, the United Kingdom, Turkey and Columbia.
This year, 20 million bottles - each costing Rs64 - have been given to the Election Commission. The ink cannot be removed by any chemical, detergent or oil.
Election Commission officials are just worried about one thing now. The publicity stirred by Mumbai's film stars having their middle fingers marked can confuse voters - and those who have yet to cast their vote may just ask for their middle finger to be marked too.
From left: Celeb Sonam Kapoor; actor Aamir Khan; and actress Amrita Rao.
Fri, May 08, 2009
tabla!
Middle finger voting
[Photo - Finger power... the Bachchan family (from left: Jaya, Aishwarya, Amitabh and Abhishek) show proof of their voting.]
IN FEBRUARY this year, some people in Maharashtra voted in the local body bypolls... and had the index finger of their left hand marked with indelible ink.
So, to prevent confusion, officials overseeing the voting in the state for the current elections have been dabbing the voters' middle fingers with the ink, reported Hindustan Times.
"It was pointed out that the mark of the indelible ink on the forefinger, put during the local body polls, is still there. Therefore, the Election Commission gave permission to the state CEO to put the mark this time on the middle finger," an election official told The Times Of India.
Normally, election officers inspect the index finger on the voter's left hand to ensure the person has not cast a vote already, and then apply indelible ink as a line from the top end of the nail to the bottom of the first joint of the finger. Before February 2006, the ink was applied just on the area where the nail meets the skin.
The middle finger has been used before... for proxy voters, who vote on behalf of defence personnel. In these cases, the voter's index finger is marked for his own vote and the middle finger for the proxy vote.
In Maharashtra, they marked proxy voters' ring finger for these elections.
The middle finger rule isn't applied everywhere. In Jammu and Kashmir, where assembly polls were held in December last year, election officials stuck to the index finger for the first three phases of polls. Ditto for Uttar Pradesh, where by elections were held in February.
As for the indelible ink, which dries up in 60 seconds and remains for a few months, it is made by Mysore Paints and Varnish Limited specially for elections in India and many other countries like South Africa, the United Kingdom, Turkey and Columbia.
This year, 20 million bottles - each costing Rs64 - have been given to the Election Commission. The ink cannot be removed by any chemical, detergent or oil.
Election Commission officials are just worried about one thing now. The publicity stirred by Mumbai's film stars having their middle fingers marked can confuse voters - and those who have yet to cast their vote may just ask for their middle finger to be marked too.
From left: Celeb Sonam Kapoor; actor Aamir Khan; and actress Amrita Rao.
