New Delhi: Election Commission has barred MPs and MLAs from using their personal pens for voting in the Presidential election today.
According to apex election body, they have to mark their ballot with a specially-designed marker.
Following the ink controversy in the RajyaSabha polls in Haryana last year, the Election Commission has decided to use special pens for the electors to mark their votes in the presidential and vice presidential polls.
Specially serial-numbered pens with violet ink have been supplied by the Election Commission to ensure that only the writing instrument issued by it is used by voters to mark their votes on Monday.
Before entering the voting chamber, a polling staff will collect personal pens from the voters and hand over the special pen to mark their vote on the ballot paper.
When the member comes out of the voting chamber, the special pen will be taken back and the polling staff will return the personal pen.
While announcing the schedule of the election, the poll panel had made it clear that use of any other pen could lead to invalidation of the vote at the time of counting under the Presidential and Vice Presidential Elections Rules, 1974.
These special pens have been procured from Mysore Paints and Varnish Ltd which supplies indelible ink to the EC.
In another first, the poll watchdog has also prepared special posters carrying dos and don'ts for the voters. It asks them to use only EC-issued pen and warns that no whip or directive can be issued to party members to vote in favour of any candidate. Since it is a secret ballot, the voters should not disclose whom they have voted for.
Green-coloured ballot papers will be there for members of Parliament and pink for MLAs who vote in the election.
The value of an MLA's vote depends on the population of the state he or she represents. But the value of the vote of an MP does not vary -- it is 708.Hence, the different colour of ballot papers will help the returning officer count the votes based on the value.
The total value of the electoral college is 10,98,903.The ballot boxes will be brought to Delhi for counting on July 20.
NDA nominee Ram Nath Kovind is pitted against opposition candidate Meira Kumar in the prestigious poll.