‘Are you operating out of BJP’s office?’: ECI’s official letter with BJP seal goes viral, sparks row
An Election Commission of India’s (ECI) communique issued on Monday drew criticism from the opposition and social media users after it purportedly had a seal of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Kerala unit in it.
According to reports, the document in question was a 2019 ECI letter related to poll guidelines, which was recently circulated again to political parties. The controversy erupted on the final day for filing nominations for the April 9 Assembly polls in the State.
“Now, do you have any doubt that the Election Commission of India is nothing but a branch office of the BJP, working purely to ensure the BJP wins elections through fraud and manipulation?,” wrote a user on ‘X.’
Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra wrote, “So @ECISVEEP in the past had courage to issue official letters with @BJP4India seal. Requesting Gyanesh Kumar to come clean with what all of us already know & issue further letters the same way. Democracy Zindabad!”
So @ECISVEEP in the past had courage to issue official letters with @BJP4India seal. Requesting Gyanesh Kumar to come clean with what all of us already know & issue further letters the same way. Democracy Zindabad! pic.twitter.com/7uNs0L0kMb
— Mahua Moitra (@MahuaMoitra) March 23, 2026
The Kerala unit of the Congress also questioned the development, stating, “Dear @ECISVEEP, In a letter shared to by you to all states and UT the seal of @BJP4Keralam’s seal is found.Are you operating out of BJP’s office? How did you get access to their seals?.”
Dear @ECISVEEP,
— Congress Kerala (@INCKerala) March 23, 2026
In a letter shared to by you to all states and UT the seal of @BJP4Keralam’s seal is found.
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? pic.twitter.com/15TSoBB2ey
“Why was the ECI circulating a copy submitted by the BJP at all? Didn’t the Commission have its own official copy of the guidelines?,” wrote another user.
“BJP seal on election commission of India (ECI) document. How many of you are buying this was a clerical error, as claimed, by the ECI?,” said another.
“It can’t get bigger than this, @ECISVEEP letter with BJP seal! Unholy relationship between BJP & Election commission is out in public now, they say it is a clerical error but how does BJP’s seal appear in EC’s office?,” wrote a third.
“A clerical error? You think Indians are fools? Elections have become a joke as they are conducted according to BJP directives and ECI doens't have any moral ground bcoz its sold out to BJP fully, completely and shamelessly. RIP Democracy!,” said another.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] also reacted, alleging that “seals are being casually swapped” and questioning whether “all pretences” had been dropped.
The party shared on its ‘X’ handle a copy of the March 19, 2019 letter bearing the BJP seal. The letter had been originally sent to Chief Electoral Officers of all States and Union Territories ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, outlining guidelines on the publicity of criminal antecedents by political parties and candidates.
Have all pretences been dropped by the BJP?
— CPI(M) Kerala (@CPIMKerala) March 23, 2026
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.
Now even that seems unnecessary.
Seals are being casually… pic.twitter.com/MfMXNaXTgk
‘clerical error’: CEO issues clarification
Responding to the controversy, Kerala Chief Electoral Officer Rathan U. Kelkar termed the issue a “clerical error” and said corrective steps had been taken.
In an official clarification, the CEO’s office said the BJP Kerala unit had recently approached it seeking clarification on the 2019 guidelines and had submitted a photocopy of the original directive carrying the party’s seal.
“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,” the statement said.
The office added that the error was identified and rectified immediately. On March 21, the Deputy Chief Electoral Officer issued a formal communication withdrawing the document, which was sent to all political parties, District Election Officers and Returning Officers.
The CEO’s office also urged the public and media not to spread misleading messages, stating that the Election Commission maintains a “rigorous and foolproof system” to ensure that the electoral process remains free from external influence.
OFFICIAL CLARIFICATION: REGARDING THE ERRONEOUS CIRCULATION OF ELECTION COMMISSION DOCUMENT
— Chief Electoral Officer Kerala (@Ceokerala) March 23, 2026
It has come to our notice that a letter from the Election Commission, bearing the seal of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is being circulated across various Malayalam news channels.…
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
England sticking with Key, McCullum and Stokes despite Ashes humbling
London (AP): England is not sacking anybody following the 4-1 Ashes loss in Australia.
A review of the tour by the England and Wales Cricket Board, announced within hours of the final match in January, was concluded on Monday. Firing people would “be the easy thing to do,” ECB chief executive Richard Gould said but he insisted, "This is not the time to throw everything out."
Managing director Rob Key, coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes kept their jobs after the best England side to go to Australia in 14 years lost the Ashes in 11 days with two games to spare.
“Moving people on can sometimes be the easy thing to do. That's not the route that we're going to take,” Gould said. “I've seen the driving ambition and determination that we're lucky enough to have within our leadership group to take the lessons from the Ashes and move forward.”
Gould previously was the chief executive of Bristol City soccer club and said the ECB would not follow the same route as soccer's hire-and-fire culture.
“Cricket is a very unique sport in that it takes a team of leadership ... it's not like football where there's a single point of failure or success with a manager," he said. He added the ECB would not “select or deselect management based on a popularity campaign.”
The main criticisms of England's tour were poor preparation, player misbehavior, and selection mistakes.
At a press conference at Lord's, Gould and Key said McCullum and Stokes have not had a “bust up,” they did not want McCullum to “completely change” but “to evolve,” the behavior of some players was “unprofessional,” there will be more consequences for underperforming, and a commitment to “better long-term planning” ahead of major test series.
Some changes were already implemented for the Twenty20 World Cup, where England reached the semifinals. Gould implied that performance saved McCullum.
Key acknowledged that England supporters would be disappointed to see the management team go unpunished.
“I know people want punishment and that people then should be sacked for that,” Key said. “That doesn't mean we don't feel like we've gone through some serious pain: Brendon, myself, Ben. It's been as tough a time as I think I've had.”
