‘BJP’s seal’ on Election Commission’s letter! There was a stir in Kerala politics, CEO said ‘clerical mistake’: – ..

Thiruvananthapuram: Amidst the excitement of Kerala Assembly elections 2026, an incident has come to light which has raised big questions on the impartiality of the Election Commission. There was a stir on Monday (March 23) when an official letter issued by the Election Commission (ECI) replaced the Election Commission Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) The seal of the state unit was found to be on it. After this lapse, the ruling CPI-M (CPI-M) and the opposition Congress have opened a front alleging ‘collusion’ between the Election Commission and the BJP.

How was the secret revealed? CPI(M) shared the document on social media

The controversy became public when CPI(M) shared a copy of the affidavit attached with a letter dated March 19 on its official social media handle. The surprising thing was that where there should have been the official seal of the Election Commission, there ‘Kerala BJP’ It was sealed. CPI(M) asked sarcastically, “Has the BJP given up all pretense now? The Election Commission and the BJP are being controlled by the same power centre; at least maintain the formality of two separate desks.”

Attack of opposition parties: “Press any button, only lotus comes out”

CPI(M) alleged that this document was sent to several political parties through email from an official source. The party compared this with the old allegations about EVMs and said that this is the same coincidence as it was said that “Press any button, only a lotus comes out.” Congress has also expressed strong objection to this matter, calling it dangerous for democracy and has demanded a high-level investigation.

(Image reflecting the controversial letter with BJP seal versus the official Election Commission seal)

Kerala CEO’s clarification: “It’s just a clerical error”

Seeing the growing controversy, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Kerala Ratan U. Kelkar issued an official statement giving clarification. He clarified that this is completely a ‘Clerical Mistake’ This was immediately rectified as soon as it came to notice. The Election Commission said that the notice of return of the flawed document has been sent to all the political parties and district election officers.

Major action: Assistant Section Officer (ASO) suspended

Considering the seriousness of the matter, the Kerala Election Commission has adopted a strict stance. The Commission said that it is looking after the work related to the file. Assistant Section Officer (ASO) has been suspended with immediate effect until the investigation is completed. The Commission is trying to find out how the political party’s seal reached the government office and how it got put on the official letter.

How did this big mistake happen?

According to Kerala CEO Kelkar, the Kerala unit of the BJP had recently sought clarification on the 2019 guidelines related to the criminal history of candidates. During this process, there is said to be exchange of seals during the movement of files. However, the opposition parties are not satisfied with this explanation and are continuously attacking the functioning of the Election Commission.