Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Mar 23: The presence of a seal of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Kerala unit on the Election Commission of India (ECI) letter on poll-related guidelines, which was distributed to political parties ahead of the Assembly elections in Kerala, sparked a political row in the State on Monday, the final day for submitting nominations for the April 9 polling.
The ruling CPI(M) in Kerala has questioned whether the ECI has dropped even all ‘pretence’ of neutrality after an election document carrying the BJP’s seal was sent to all political parties, District Election Officers and Returning Officers in the state.
The document in question is an affidavit attached to a letter dated March 19, 2019, which the Election Commission sent on 20 March, just weeks before the state heads for the 9 April Assembly polls. “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) said in a post on X on Monday.
“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’.”
The CPI(M)’s official handle attached images of the purported letter along with the email it was sent from. The letter, dated 19 March 2019, sets out frequently asked questions and clarifications on the disclosure and publication of candidates’ criminal antecedents, in line with a Supreme Court judgment dated 25 September 2018. At the bottom of the letter, however, is the seal of the BJP’s Kerala unit, while the email was sent from a private address, not an official ECI address.
“An affidavit attached to a letter (dated March 19, 2019) sent by the Election Commission to political parties carried the seal of the BJP Kerala unit instead of the Election Commission’s seal,” the CPI(M) said. “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.”
Reacting to the ECI official letter, the Kerala unit of the Congress in a post on X asked how the ECI official documents carried BJP seal. “Are you operating out of BJP’s office? How did you get access to their seals? Or is it BJP’s letter to all the Electoral Officers with your letterhead? Can you explain this?”
The Office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Kerala, confirmed the letter’s authenticity but said BJP seal was the result of a “clerical error.” The Kerala CEO has called the allegations misleading and said it was a lapse that was corrected immediately.
“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 CEO’s official handle on X said.
It said the attached document with the BJP seal was provided to the ECI by the BJP’s Kerala unit when it approached the CEO’s office seeking clarification on the 2019 guidelines on publishing candidates’ criminal antecedents. “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,” the statement said.
“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. The guidelines in question have been revised since 2019 and have already been communicated to all political entities.” It added that it maintains a rigorous system to ensure the electoral process remains free from external interference or influence.
Meanwhile, the Congress and the DMK on Monday reached an accord for the upcoming Assembly polls in the Union Territory of Puducherry where the Congress will contest 16 seats with the DMK given the remaining 14 seats for the 30-member Assembly. The DMK, from its kitty, will allocate seats to the INDIA bloc constituents VCK and CPI. DMK delegate and Lok Sabha member S. Jagathratchagan and Puducherry PCC president V. Vaithilingam announced the seat-sharing agreement at a press conference.
