A row erupted in Kerala on Monday after an Election Commission letter bearing the seal of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s state unit was widely circulated online on the final day for submitting nominations for the Assembly elections.
Later in the day, the poll panel stated that the letter carried the BJP seal due to a “purely clerical error”.
“The Office of the Chief Electoral Officer acknowledged the lapse as soon as it was detected,” added the Chief Electoral Officer in Kerala. “Consequently, on March 21, the deputy chief electoral officer issued a formal letter withdrawing the erroneous document.”
The Communist Party of India (Marxist)’s Kerala unit first flagged the matter on social media on Monday afternoon. The party shared a screenshot of a March 21 email that had an affidavit attached to a March 19, 2019, letter sent to political parties in the country.
The 2019 letter detailed norms about criminal antecedents of candidates, bore a seal of the BJP’s Kerala unit and was signed by an official of the Election Commission.
The CPI(M) alleged that “seals are being casually swapped” and questioned whether “all pretences” have been dropped by the BJP and the Kerala Chief Electoral Officer.
“It is no secret that the same power centre seems to control both the Election Commission of India and the BJP,” the party alleged. “Even then, at least maintain the courtesy of two separate desks.”
The Congress and the Trinamool Congress also backed the CPI(M)’s allegations.
Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra alleged that the poll body “finally had the courage to issue official letters” with the BJP seal.
The Congress’ Kerala Unit asked the poll body whether it was operating out of the BJP’s office, questioning how electoral officials got access to the party’s seals.
Congress leader Pawan Khera asked whether the BJP’s slogan “Abki baar, Modi sarkar” was also the result of a similar “clerical error”.
The poll body stated that the error occurred because the BJP’s Kerala unit had approached the Election Commission seeking clarification on 2019 guidelines regarding the publication of criminal antecedents of candidates.
Along with the request, the party had submitted a photocopy of the original 2019 directive, which carried its seal, the poll body explained.
“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,” stated the poll body.
It added that once the error was noted, all political parties, district election officers and returning officers were told via a formula letter that the “erroneous document” was withdrawn and should be disregarded.
“The public and media are requested to refrain from spreading misleading messages based on this clerical error,” the Election Commission said. “The Election Commission maintains a rigorous and foolproof system to ensure that the electoral process remains free from any external interference or influence.”
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