BMC Polls Live: "Vanishing Ink" Chaos Hits Voting in Mumbai

Voting is currently underway across Maharashtra for elections to 29 municipal corporations, including the high-stakes Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)—India's richest civic body with a budget of ₹74,400 crore. Today’s polling marks the end of a four-year hiatus where the city was run by state-appointed administrators.

However, the democratic exercise has already been marred by controversy. By mid-day, opposition leaders Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray alleged a coordinated "fraud," sharing videos claiming the indelible ink applied to voters' fingers was "vanishing" when wiped with sanitizer. This election is not just a civic poll; it is the final litmus test for the Shiv Sena’s legacy and a referendum on the Shinde-BJP government's "Administrator Raj."

The Context (How We Got Here)

The road to this election has been paved with litigation and delay.

• The Freeze: Since 2022, when the terms of major civic bodies expired, elections were stalled due to legal battles over OBC reservation quotas and ward delimitation.
• The Force: The deadlock broke only after the Supreme Court censured the State Election Commission in September 2025, setting a hard deadline of January 31, 2026.
• The Conflict: Today’s voting takes place in the shadow of the "Ink Conspiracy." While Chief Minister Eknath Shinde dismissed the "vanishing ink" claims as excuses for an inevitable defeat, the narrative feeds into a deeper erosion of trust in the electoral process.

The Key Players (Who & So What)

• Uddhav Thackeray (The Defender): Fighting for political survival. Losing the BMC—his party's fortress for 25 years—would effectively end his claim to his father’s legacy. He frames the "vanishing ink" as proof of the BJP's intent to "steal" Mumbai.
• Eknath Shinde (The Challenger): The Chief Minister faces his own test. A loss in his home turf of Thane or a failure to capture Mumbai would weaken his standing within the Mahayuti alliance and make him a liability to the BJP.
• Raj Thackeray (The Wildcard): The MNS Chief has aligned tactically with his estranged cousin Uddhav for the first time in two decades. This "Thackeray United" front is a desperate gamble to consolidate the "Marathi Manoos" vote against the national parties.

The BIGSTORY Reframe (Regionalism 2.0)

While mainstream media frames this as a "Shinde vs. Uddhav" proxy war, the deeper story is the "Administrator Fatigue" meeting "Regionalism 2.0."

For four years, Mumbai was ruled by bureaucrats, cutting citizens off from local corporators. This "Administrator Raj" has created a massive anti-incumbency wave, not necessarily against a party, but against the absence of democracy. Furthermore, the tactical truce between Raj and Uddhav Thackeray signals a shift in Indian regional politics. It suggests that facing existential threats from national hegemons (like the BJP), splintered regional dynasties are forced to bury personal hatchets. If the "Thackeray Reunion" works today, it creates a template for regional resistance nationwide.

The Closing Question (Now, Think About This)

If the ink on a voter's finger can vanish in minutes, how long before the trust in the mandate vanishes too?

FAQs

Why were the BMC elections delayed for 4 years? Due to prolonged legal battles over OBC reservation quotas and the redrawing of ward boundaries (delimitation) by successive state governments.

Is indelible ink removable in Maharashtra polls? Opposition leaders Uddhav and Raj Thackeray have alleged the ink is removable with sanitizer, but the Election Commission and CM Shinde have denied this, calling it standard quality.

When will the Maharashtra civic poll results be declared? Vote counting is scheduled for tomorrow, Friday, January 16, 2026.

Sources

News Coverage

• NDTV: [suspicious link removed]
• India TV: "Ink vanishing with sanitizer": Uddhav Thackeray alleges poll fraud
• India Today: Thackeray cousins unite? Raj and Uddhav cadres seen coordinating

Context & Analysis

• LiveMint: The economics of BMC: Why everyone wants to rule India's richest civic body
• Scroll.in: Explained: The OBC reservation legal battle that stalled Maharashtra polls