Thiruvananthapuram, March 23 (IANS) The Kerala Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) on Monday suspended an Assistant Section Officer pending enquiry following a clerical lapse that led to the circulation of an official communication bearing the seal of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The office of the Chief Electoral Officer in Kerala on Monday evening clarified that a letter from the Election Commission of India, carrying the BJP seal, had been circulated across Malayalam news channels, triggering confusion during a crucial phase of election preparations.

According to officials, the lapse occurred when the BJP’s Kerala unit sought clarification on the 2019 guidelines relating to the publication of criminal antecedents of candidates.

As part of the request, the party had submitted a photocopy of the original directive that carried its official seal.

However, the symbol went unnoticed by officials, and the same document was inadvertently circulated to other political parties while issuing the clarification.

The CEO’s office said the error was identified swiftly and corrective steps were initiated without delay.

On March 21, the Deputy Chief Electoral Officer formally withdrew the erroneous communication and circulated a revised version to all political parties, District Election Officers and Returning Officers, instructing them to disregard the earlier document.

Kerala goes to the polls on April 9 to elect 140 legislators, with an electorate of around 2.72 crore.

The election will see a triangular contest involving the CPI-M-led Left Democratic Front, the Congress-led United Democratic Front, and the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.

Officials emphasised that the incident has not affected the integrity of the electoral process, noting that revised guidelines updated since 2019 had already been communicated to all stakeholders.

The CEO’s office also urged the public and the media to avoid spreading misleading interpretations, reiterating that robust systems are in place to ensure a free and fair election.

--IANS

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