CPI MP flags “grave breach” as BJP seal appears on official EC document

Communist Party of India (CPI) Rajya Sabha MP P. Sandosh Kumar has written to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, flagging what he termed a “serious breach of institutional neutrality and procedural integrity” after an Election Commission of India (ECI) communication dated 19 March 2019 was found to bear the seal of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). 

The Kerala Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) has reportedly acknowledged circulating the document, attributing the presence of the party’s seal to a “clerical mistake”, an explanation the MP described as untenable and deeply troubling.

He argued that the incident goes beyond routine administrative lapses and strikes at the credibility and constitutional impartiality of the ECI, especially at a time when public confidence in democratic processes requires utmost protection.

Mr. Kumar also flagged another lapse—the Kerala CEO’s circulation of outdated FAQs on disclosure of criminal antecedents of candidates despite the ECI issuing updated guidelines in January 2022 and March 2024 following a Supreme Court judgment.

Calling the use of outdated material either deliberate or disturbingly negligent, Mr. Kumar questioned whether political parties in Kerala were misled or disadvantaged by the withholding of updated legal requirements.