Kerala Assembly Elections 2026: A political firestorm erupted ahead of the upcoming Kerala Assembly Elections after an official letter from the Election Commission (EC) was found carrying the seal of the BJP’s Kerala unit, drawing sharp accusations from the CPI(M) and the Congress against the poll panel and the saffron party.
EC letter stamped with BJP Kerala seal sparks row
The controversy came to the fore after the CPI(M) shared on X, an affidavit attached to a March 19, 2019 letter sent to political parties which was stamped with the BJP Kerala seal instead of the Election Commission’s official seal.
The CPI(M) reiterated the Opposition’s allegation of a collusion between the Commission and the ruling BJP, alleging that “it is no secret that the same power centre seems to control both the Election Commission of India and the BJP.”
“Have all pretences been dropped by the BJP? Even then, at least maintain the courtesy of two separate desks.” the party said in a direct swipe at the BJP and the EC.
“Seals are being casually swapped. A BJP seal on an Election Commission letter!” it further alleged, and emarked, “Just like the old allegation – that no matter which button you press, the lotus appears – here comes another ‘coincidence.'”
‘Are you operating from BJP office’
According to the CPI(M), the multiple political parties had received the letter with the BJP Kerala stamp, and had been “cross-verified with at least two of the recipients,” adding that the email had originated from an official Election Commission source.
The Congress’ Kerala unit also trained guns on the Election Commission asked whether apex poll panel was “operating out of BJP’s office”, and how it gained access to BJP’s official 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 Electoral Officers with your letterhead? Can you explain this?” it asked.
‘Clerical error’, says EC
Responding to the controversy, the Election Commission dismissed it as “purely a clerical error” which had been “rectified immediately.”
“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,” Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Kerala said in a post on X.
The CEO’s office also ‘explained’ how the “clerical error” occurred, saying that the “BJP Kerala Unit had recently approached the CEO’s office seeking clarification on the 2019 guidelines regarding the publication of criminal antecedents of candidates. 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”.
Error caused due to ‘oversight’
The poll panel said the CEO’s office failed to notice the notice the party symbol on the submitted document “due to an oversight”, and “inadvertently redistributed it to other political parties as part of the requested clarification.”
It said that the lapse was acknowledged and corrective action taken promptly, following which a formal letter was issued withdrawing the erroneous document
“The Office of the Chief Electoral Officer acknowledged the lapse as soon as it was detected. Consequently, on March 21, the Deputy Chief Electoral Officer issued a formal letter withdrawing the erroneous document. The withdrawal notice was dispatched to all political parties, District Election Officers, and Returning Officers,” the statement added.
(With inputs from agencies)
