New Delhi: Whether it’s visuals, soundbytes, or talking heads sharing their thoughts — silence is golden ahead of polling day, and during the 48-hour “silence period” before it, television channels, websites and social media platforms must make sure there’s nothing in their content that’s intended to influence election results, the Election Commission of India (ECI) reiterated Monday in a press note, whose contents were originally issued on 14 January.
“Silence period” is a term used by the commission to refer to a 48-hour period in which candidates and parties are supposed to take a complete break from all forms of campaigning, and from spreading campaign-related messages, in constituencies about to go to the polls.
The reminder comes at a time when the ECI is confronted by challenges thrown up by technology in polls that are spread over multiple phases. The election process is underway in five states — Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Manipur, and Goa. While Punjab, Uttarakhand and Goa go to the polls in a single phase, the elections in Uttar Pradesh are spread over seven phases and Manipur in two.
In the past few days, top political leaders such as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath have given interviews when the silence period was applicable in certain poll-bound regions.
Star campaigners across party lines have also been holding rallies and addressing public gatherings that could be viewed through social media by people in places where the silence period applies.
The ECI has so far not initiated action against any prominent leaders in the past week over violation of the silence period rules, two senior officials confirmed.
While such political events may not always violate election rules, current and former officials associated with the ECI expressed concerns over loopholes in the system that can be exploited to influence polls.
ECI officials, however, did not clarify whether this was a routine reminder or was triggered by any specific violation. ThePrint approached the ECI through email and text messages, but received no response till the time this report was published.
Also read: In post-Covid age of digital campaigns, parties spent just Rs 8 crore in 3 months on Facebook
Contents of the reminder
“The Commission has clarified in the past that the said Section 126 prohibits displaying any election matter by means, inter alia, of television or similar apparatus, during the period of 48 hours ending with the hour fixed for conclusion of poll in a constituency,” the commission said in its note.
“‘Election matter’ has been defined in that Section as any matter intended or calculated to influence or affect the result of an election,” the note added.
It further stated that “TV/radio channels and cable networks/internet websites/social media platforms” should ensure that content they broadcast during the 48-hour period doesn’t contain any material, including views or appeals by panelists or participants “that may be construed as promoting/ prejudicing the prospect of any particular party or candidate(s) or influencing/ affecting the result of the election”.
“This shall, among other things, include display of any opinion poll and of standard debates, analysis, visuals, and sound-bytes,” it said.
The commission’s guidelines draw their legal backing from Section 126 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and violation can lead to imprisonment for a period of up to two years, said the press note.
Rules and loopholes
The ECI has a set of rules, called the Model Code of Conduct (MCC), which define what multiple stakeholders — including political parties, candidates, the government, and media — can and cannot do for the period from the announcement of poll dates to results day.
The MCC derives its powers from a wide range of provisions covered under the Representation of the People Act, 1951. One of its subsets is the 48-hour silence period rule that originates from Section 126 of the Act.
The MCC was observed for the first time in the Kerala elections in 1960, said the ECI in a manual published in 2019. Over the years, the code has witnessed revisions.
In 2018, the commission set up a panel to study the impact of new media and social media during the silence period, and suggest changes to the model code. Based on recommendations that the committee submitted in January 2019, ECI officials said, the model code was revised to make it more robust. This is the last such revision to have taken place, according to documents accessed by ThePrint.
“During the silence period, star campaigners and other political leaders should refrain from addressing the media by way of press conferences and giving interviews on election matters,” said a letter that the ECI sent to all states and Union territories in March 2019. ThePrint accessed a copy of the letter.
But there is a caveat. That letter also stated, “In a multi-phased election, the silence period of the last 48 hours may be on in certain constituencies while campaigning is ongoing in other constituencies. In such an event, there should not be any direct or indirect reference amounting to soliciting support for parties or candidates in the constituencies observing the silence period.”
Speaking to ThePrint, a senior ECI official said, “Candidates and parties may not be necessarily violating rules. The content has to be reviewed and that has to be done on a case-to-case basis.”
In 2019, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the commission also expanded the scope of the MCC and silence period to cover all forms of media, with emphasis on social media. For this, a committee set up by the ECI had held multiple rounds of talks with representatives of platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube, Twitter, and Google, said the senior official.
ThePrint also asked the ECI through email and text messages about how it plans to establish checks and balances regarding content published or uploaded on social media during the silence period. No response was received on this question either.
However, some experts want the current rules revised, such as former chief election commissioner S.Y. Quraishi. “It is high time that the current set of rules are entirely revised. There are gaps in the system and political parties are taking advantage of it. With the current set of rules, it is impossible that the silence period is observed effectively,” Quraishi told ThePrint.
“Social media is the biggest challenge at a time when polls are spread over multiple phases. If a revision is not possible, then the ECI should either do away with the current set of rules, opening up equal space for all parties, or they should only chalk out single phase election strategies,” he added.
(Edited by Rohan Manoj)
Also read: NPP alleged militants campaigning for BJP in Manipur. Here’s why it didn’t push issue with EC