Election Commission’s communique bears BJP’s seal: Row in Kerala

New Delhi: The Election Commission of India has acknowledged a clerical error after an official communication sent to political parties carried the seal of the Bharatiya Janata Party, triggering political controversy and raising concerns over procedural integrity.

The issue stemmed from a letter in which the BJP’s seal appeared in place of the Commission’s. According to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Kerala, the mix-up originated from a 2019 interaction, when representatives of the BJP’s Kerala unit approached the CEO’s office seeking clarifications on FAQs issued by the Commission regarding disclosure of candidates’ criminal antecedents. At the time, the party had submitted a copy of the FAQ document bearing its Kerala unit seal, according to an On Manorama report.

During the recent distribution of these FAQs, an official in the CEO Kerala office mistakenly retrieved the previously submitted copy from records. The document, still carrying the BJP seal, was photographed and circulated via email to political parties, leading to the confusion.

The incident drew swift criticism from opposition parties, which argued that such an overlap could not be dismissed as a coincidence and raised questions about the Commission’s independence. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) amplified the issue by sharing the document on its official social media platform in Kerala, questioning whether the distinction between the ruling party and the constitutional body was being maintained.

Initially, the Commission denied any irregularity, stating that the original document did not carry such a seal and that similar materials had been used in previous elections. However, it later admitted to an error in the forwarding process.

In a subsequent clarification, the Commission termed the incident a clerical mistake, withdrew the directive, and issued a corrected version, seeking to contain the fallout.