Clerical lapse sparks controversy over official communication
Fresh directive issued as parties asked to ignore earlier document..reports Asian Lite News Desk
In an embarrassing lapse, the Election Commission of India withdrew an official communication sent to political parties in Kerala after it was found to carry the seal of the state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Officials said the error was the result of a clerical mistake and was promptly corrected. The withdrawal order was issued on March 21 by the office of the Chief Electoral Officer Kerala in Thiruvananthapuram.
A revised communication was subsequently sent to all political parties, District Electoral Officers and Returning Officers, instructing them to disregard the earlier letter. The fresh directive included updated guidelines on the disclosure and publicity of candidates’ criminal antecedents, in line with Election Commission norms.
The controversy surfaced after the document began circulating widely in the public domain on Monday. The letter was reportedly a recirculated version of a 2019 directive linked to a Supreme Court of India judgment mandating transparency in candidates’ criminal records.
Concerns were raised as the document bore the seal of the BJP’s Kerala unit instead of that of the Election Commission, prompting criticism from opposition parties. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) flagged the issue and indicated plans to file a formal complaint.
Party leader M V Nikesh Kumar, who heads its social media campaign, shared the document online and questioned how an official communication could carry a political party’s seal.
The incident has sparked debate over procedural safeguards within the election machinery, even as authorities maintain that corrective steps were taken swiftly to address the lapse.
