New Delhi: The Election Commission has termed the appearance of a BJP seal on an official letter circulated to political parties in Kerala as a “clerical
error”, following criticism from opposition leaders.
BJP seal on EC circular
According to the Commission, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had submitted a document bearing its party seal while seeking clarification on the 2019 guidelines related to the publication of candidates’ criminal antecedents.
Due to an oversight, the same document was circulated by the office to other political parties as part of the clarification process.
Row triggered
The controversy erupted as an affidavit attached to a March 19, 2019 letter surfaced with a BJP seal. CPI(M) Kerala shared images of the document and alleged undue influence over the Election Commission.
Have all pretences been dropped by the BJP?
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.
Now even that seems unnecessary.
Seals are being casually… pic.twitter.com/MfMXNaXTgk
— CPI(M) Kerala (@CPIMKerala) March 23, 2026
Reacting on X, the party said, “Have all pretences been dropped by the BJP? 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. Now, even that seems unnecessary.”
The CPI(M) further criticised the incident, stating, “Seals are being casually swapped. A BJP seal on an Election Commission letter! Just like the old allegation – that no matter which button you press, the lotus appears – here comes another ‘coincidence.’ Shouldn’t someone be paying attention?”
It also claimed that the document had been widely circulated and verified.
“The document has been received by multiple parties. It has been cross-verified with at least two of the recipients. It is also confirmed that the email originated from the official Election Commission source.”
EC issues clarification
In response, the Election Commission acknowledged the lapse and clarified the sequence of events.
“It has come to our notice that a letter from the Election Commission, bearing the seal of the Bharatiya Janata Party (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 Commission explained that the BJP Kerala unit had submitted a photocopy of the original 2019 directive with its seal affixed, which was mistakenly redistributed.
The poll body said the error was corrected swiftly.
“Due to an oversight, the office failed to notice the party symbol on the submitted document and inadvertently redistributed it to other political parties as part of the requested clarification,” EC said.
It added that the Deputy Chief Electoral Officer issued a formal withdrawal on March 21, sending notices to all concerned officials and parties.
Urging caution, the Commission said, “The public and media are requested to refrain from spreading misleading messages based on this clerical error. The Election Commission maintains a rigorous and foolproof system to ensure that the electoral process remains free from any external interference or influence.”
Kerala is scheduled to go to polls in a single phase on April 9, with counting set for May 4.
