The indelible ink will be marked on the middle finger of the left hand of voters in the local body bypolls scheduled on December 10 in Kerala, the State Election Commissioner issued a directive on Friday. The directive was issued considering the fact that the impression of ink would still be visible on voters who cast their votes in the Lok Sabha and Assembly bypolls held on November 13 and 20.

The directive shall be applicable only for the bypolls scheduled on December 10. As per the norms, the polling officer shall ascertain the identity of the voter, inspect the left forefinger of the voter and apply an indelible ink mark on the finger. This is done to prevent any kind of fraud during elections.

Bypolls in 31 local body wards will be held across 11 districts on December 10. The state election commission has declared bypolls in 23 gram panchayat wards, three municipality wards, four block panchayat wards and a district panchayat ward.