Kerala poll officer suspended over 'clerical error' with BJP seal doc

Kerala's CEO suspended an Assistant Section Officer for a clerical error. A document with a BJP seal, a copy of 2019 guidelines submitted by the party, was wrongly sent to other political parties. The office has since withdrawn the document.

The Kerala Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) suspended an Assistant Section Officer following a "clerical error" that saw a document with a BJP seal mistakenly distributed as an official Election Commission communication. In an X post, the office clarified that the error occurred when a photocopy of the 2019 guidelines submitted by the BJP, bearing their seal, was inadvertently redistributed to other political parties, prompting immediate rectification by senior officials in the office.

CEO's Office Clarifies 'Clerical Error'

"The BJP Kerala Unit had recently approached the CEO's office seeking clarification on the 2019 guidelines regarding the publication of criminal antecedents of candidates. Along with their request, the party submitted a photocopy of the original 2019 directive. The party's seal was present on that specific copy provided by them. 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 guidelines in question have undergone revisions since 2019, which have already been communicated to all political entities," the Kerala CEO explained in an X post.

Emphasising that the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer acknowledged the lapse as soon as it was detected, it said that the Deputy Chief Electoral Officer issued a formal letter on March 21 to withdraw the erroneous document.

Officer Suspended Pending Enquiry

Adding to the clarification, the Kerala CEO added, "The Assistant Section Officer dealing with the file in the office of the Chief Electoral Officer has been placed under suspension pending enquiry."

Kerala, Assam and the Union Territory of Puducherry are all set to hold the 2026 Assembly Election on April 9 in a single phase, with counting of votes scheduled to take place on May 4. (ANI)

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