Election Commission Blamed clerical errors for circulating a letter from the Election Commission with the BJP’s seal of approval. Issuing an official clarification, the Election Commission said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) submitted a document bearing the party seal as part of the requested clarification regarding the 2019 guidelines on publication of criminal history of candidates. It said that, due to an office error, the same document was sent to other parties for similar clarifications.The response comes in the form of an affidavit attached to a letter dated March 19, 2019, which was distributed to political parties in Kerala with the BJP’s seal of approval. CPI(M) Kerala shared pictures of the letter as it alleged that the Election Commission is controlled by the same political power. It also added a sarcastic comment saying the party should at least show “the courtesy of maintaining separate desks”.“Has the BJP given up all pretence? It is no secret that the same power center controls both the Election Commission of India and the BJP. Still, at least maintain the courtesy of two separate desks. Now, that too seems unnecessary,” CPI(M) posted on Twitter.It further commented about the BJP’s seal on the affidavit and compared the incident to an old allegation of EVM tampering, saying, “Seals are being swapped. BJP’s seal on the Election Commission’s letter! Like the old allegation – that you press any button, a lotus will appear – here’s another ‘coincidence’. Shouldn’t anyone notice?”It also added proper verification of the incident and said, “The document has been received by multiple parties. It has been cross-verified with at least two recipients. It has also been confirmed that the email originated from an official Election Commission source.”In response to the post, the Election Commission issued an official clarification on the matter. It said it acknowledged the circulation error was caused by a clerical error. It said, “It has come to our notice that a letter from the Election Commission bearing the seal of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is being broadcast on various Malayalam news channels. The Office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) clarifies that this was purely a clerical error, which was identified and immediately corrected.“Giving full details of the incident, it said, “The BJP Kerala unit recently approached the CEO’s office seeking clarification on the 2019 guidelines regarding publication of criminal history of candidates. Along with their request, the party had submitted a photocopy of the original 2019 directive. The party seal was present on that specific copy provided by him.”“Due to an omission, 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 are amendments from 2019, which have already been communicated to all political entities.”According to the statement, the Deputy CEO has withdrawn the incorrect document with a formal letter.“The Office of the Chief Electoral Officer accepted the omission as soon as it was discovered. As a result, on March 21, the Deputy Chief Electoral Officer issued a formal letter withdrawing the erroneous document. Notice of withdrawal was sent to all political parties, District Election Officers and Returning Officers.”It urged to avoid spreading further confusion and claimed that the commission is free from any outside interference. “The public and the media are requested to refrain from spreading misleading messages based on this clerical error. The Election Commission maintains a rigorous and foolproof system to ensure that the electoral process remains free from any outside interference or influence,” it said.Voting is to be held in Kerala in a single phase on April 9, while the counting of votes is to take place on May 4.