Maharashtra's civic polls for 29 municipal corporations on January 15, 2026, faced fresh controversy. Voters complained that polling staff used marker pens instead of the official indelible ink on their fingers after voting. According to rules, indelible ink is applied to the left finger to prevent multiple voting. Raj Thackeray, Chief of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), expressed serious concerns. He said, "The Election Commission hasn’t shown parties the EVM machines. We won’t allow this. The ink on the finger after voting can be removed with a sanitiser. Instead of ink, pens are being used after voting." He added, "The entire administration is working for the ruling party. This isn’t a sign of good democracy. This isn’t what we call governance. Everyone should be alert. There’s a limit to misusing power. Shiv Sena and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena supporters should keep an eye on those re-voting and wiping off the ink." Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant also claimed that the marker pens used can be removed easily with nail polish remover. Responding to these allegations, Mumbai Municipal Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani said, "We will probe all the complaints related to the use of ink. Preliminary observation is that the ink on the nail is removable, but the ink on the skin doesn’t get erased." The State Election Commission reported that 3.48 crore voters are set to choose among 15,908 candidates contesting 2,869 seats in 893 wards across the 29 municipal corporations. Voting took place in 39,092 polling centers statewide.