With the Kerala Assembly polls approaching, a controversy has erupted after a BJP seal was reportedly found on an official Election Commission of India (ECI) letter. The CPI(M) has alleged a conspiracy, reiterating its long-standing claim that the poll body is "rigged."
CPI(M) had posted the letter on their official party handle, and it was widely circulated on social media.
Kerala Police had issued a notice to a Uttar Pradesh journalist for posting the EC letter with the BJP seal.
By flagging the letter on X, CPI(M) asked, "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," the party wrote.
"Seals are being causally swapped," it added.
The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Kerala, meanwhile, dismissed the incident as "purely a clerical error." The BJP had recently submitted a photocopy of a 2019 directive while seeking clarification on guidelines regarding the publication of candidates' criminal antecedents. The party seal was already present on that copy, the office added.
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, it further said.
The CEO also said that the mistake was identified and rectified immediately.
Taking action, an Assistant Section Officer handling the file was suspended pending an enquiry.
Urging restraint, the CEO's office appealed to the public and media not to spread "misleading messages".