Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Electoral Officer Dr Rathan U Kelkar has taken action against two officials, days after a political row erupted over an Election Commission of India (ECI) communiqué that bore Kerala BJP’s seal. He ordered that the Deputy CEO and a Section Officer of the State Election Commission be relieved of election duty and sent back to their parent departments.

According to an official statement issued by Kelkar, the action was based on an inquiry report submitted by Additional CEO PB Nooh.

On March 23, CPM Kerala shared a letter sent by the ECI to political parties, which bore the Kerala BJP seal instead of the commission’s official seal. As the post on X triggered a political debate, the CEO clarified that his office had identified the error and withdrawn the letter on March 21. He stated that it was a clerical error that had been corrected immediately and that CPM had shared an outdated version of the letter.

He also suspended the Assistant Section Officer who had been handling the file related to the letter.