Election Commission Letter With BJP Seal Triggers Political Row In Kerala, Poll Body Blames 'Clerical Error'; Suspends Officer

New Delhi: A major political row erupted in Kerala after a letter from the Election Commission of India was found carrying a seal of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Kerala unit.

The dispute gained momentum when the CPI(M) posted on X (formerly Twitter), highlighting a document where they shared an affidavit from a March 19, 2019, letter sent to national political parties that featured the BJP Kerala seal rather than the required official Election Commission stamp.

‘Purely clerical error’

Following the furore, the Election Commission of India termed the  mistake a “purely clerical error” caused by an oversight in circulating a party-submitted document. 

It further said the lapse was identified and rectified immediately, and suspended an Assistant Section Officer over the incident.

CPI(M) vs BJP

In a strongly worded post, the CPI(M) said, “Have all pretences been dropped by the BJP?” It added, “It is no secret that the same power centre seems to control both the Election Commission of India and the BJP. Even then, at least maintain the courtesy of two separate desks.”

The party further alleged, “Seals are being casually swapped. A BJP seal on an Election Commission letter!” and remarked, “Just like the old allegation — that no matter which button you press, the lotus appears — here comes another ‘coincidence.’”

The CPI(M) claimed the document had been “received by multiple parties” and “cross-verified with at least two of the recipients,” adding that the email had originated from an official Election Commission source.

Joining the chorus of criticism, the Congress party also took aim at the Election Commission. Tearing into BJP, Congress asked “Are you operating out of BJP’s office? How did you get access to their seals or is it BJP’s letter to all Electoral Officers with your letterhead?”

What CEO (Kerala) said

The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Kerala, highlighting the goof-up said “It has come to our notice that a letter from the Election Commission, bearing the seal of the BJP, is being circulated across various Malayalam news channels. The Office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) hereby clarifies that this was purely a clerical error, which was identified and rectified immediately.”

The CEO’s office, explaining the sequence of events added, “The BJP Kerala Unit had recently approached the CEO’s office seeking clarification on the 2019 guidelines regarding the publication of criminal antecedents of candidates. Along with their request, the party submitted a photocopy of the original 2019 directive. The party’s seal was present on that specific copy provided by them.”

“Due to an oversight, the office failed to notice the party seal and inadvertently circulated the same document to other political parties,” the statement said.

Once detected, the error was promptly corrected, the CEO said.

“The withdrawal notice was dispatched to all political parties, District Election Officers, and Returning Officers,” the statement added.

Urging restraint, the CEO’s office added that public and media are requested to refrain from spreading misleading messages based on this clerical error, as per news reports.

Kerala Polls

Meanwhile, in a post on ‘X’, the Kerala unit of the Congress questioned the Election Commission over the issue, asking, “Are you operating out of BJP’s office? How did you get access to their seals?” and added, “Or is it BJP’s letter to all Electoral Officers with your letterhead? Can you explain this?”

Notably,  this new  controversy stemmed with just days to go before Kerala’s single-phase assembly elections on April 9. Voters are set to elect 140 members to the Legislative Assembly, with the final results scheduled for announcement on May 4.

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