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The controversy has emerged days before voting in Kerala, where polling will be held in a single phase on April 9 to elect 140 members of the Assembly.
Election Commission (Photo: PTI)
Weeks before the Kerala Legislative Assembly election, a controversy broke out after a letter from the Election Commission of India carrying the Kerala BJP unit’s seal surfaced online. The poll body called it a “purely clerical error” caused by an oversight while circulating a document submitted by a party. It said the mistake was detected and corrected immediately, and an Assistant Section Officer has been suspended.
What the letter said?
The document, titled “FAQs on Criminal Antecedents, if any, of a candidate and its publicity in pursuance of Hon’ble Supreme Court Judgment dated 25/09/2018 in W.P.(C) No. 536 of 2011-regarding,” was addressed to all recognised national and state political parties.
It referred to earlier directions issued on 10/10/2018 following the Supreme Court judgment and said a set of FAQs and clarifications had been enclosed. It stated that these FAQs should be shared with District Election Officers, Returning Officers, election officials and political parties in the state.
The letter also directed that after elections, candidates must submit a report on the publication of their declarations to the DEO, while political parties must submit theirs to the CEO of the state. It added that formats C-4 and C-5 had been provided for this purpose and should be circulated to all relevant officials and parties.
CPI-M, Congress flags issue
The issue came to light after Communist Party of India (Marxist) flagged it on X, pointing to an affidavit attached to a March 19, 2019 letter that carried the Kerala BJP seal instead of the Commission’s.
In a detailed post, the party questioned the development, asking, “Have all pretences been dropped by the BJP?” It alleged that “the same power centre seems to control both the Election Commission of India and the BJP.” It added, “At least maintain the courtesy of two separate desks.”
The party said seals were being casually swapped and claimed the document had been received by multiple parties and cross-verified. “This is a first. We have often heard claims that, no matter which button is pressed on a voting machine, the lotus lights up. But this is the first time it appears as if the BJP and the Election Commission are using the same seal,” it said.
The Indian National Congress also criticised the poll body, asking whether it was operating out of the BJP’s office and how it had access to the party’s seal.
Election authorities explain mix-up
Responding to the row, the Chief Electoral Officer, Kerala, said the BJP had submitted a photocopy of a 2019 directive while seeking clarification on rules related to the publication of candidates’ criminal records. The party’s seal was already present on that copy.
“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 statement said.
It added that due to an oversight, the office failed to notice the party seal and inadvertently shared the same document with other political parties.
The CEO’s office said the lapse was acknowledged as soon as it was detected. On March 21, the Deputy Chief Electoral Officer formally withdrew the document and informed all political parties, district election officers and returning officers.
Authorities urged the public and media not to spread “misleading messages”, stating that safeguards are in place to ensure the electoral process remains free from external influence.
The controversy has emerged days before voting in Kerala, where polling will be held in a single phase on April 9 to elect 140 members of the Assembly. Results are scheduled to be announced on May 4.
Kerala, India, India
March 24, 2026, 1:07 pm IST
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