{"id":969,"date":"2026-03-16T07:24:52","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T07:24:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/materials.simplycurrentaffairs.com\/?p=969"},"modified":"2026-03-17T07:24:57","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T07:24:57","slug":"model-code-of-conduct","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/materials.simplycurrentaffairs.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/16\/model-code-of-conduct\/","title":{"rendered":"Model Code of Conduct"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Model Code of Conduct<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/mark><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

About<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/mark><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  • The Model Code of Conduct (MCC) is a\u00a0set of rules\u00a0<\/strong>issued by the\u00a0Election Commission of India (ECI)<\/strong>\u00a0to guide political parties and candidates during elections.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Its purpose is to\u00a0ensure the conduct of free and fair elections,\u00a0<\/strong>in line with the mandate of ECI\u00a0<\/strong>under\u00a0Article 324<\/strong>\u00a0of the Indian Constitution.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    Timeline<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/mark><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
      \n
    • The MCC was first introduced in the\u00a0assembly election in Kerala in 1960.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • In\u00a01962<\/strong>, the Election Commission introduced the Model Code of Conduct for\u00a0general elections.\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0\n
        \n
      • The guidelines of the Model Code of Conduct were\u00a0made stricter<\/strong>\u00a0by the Election Commission in\u00a01991<\/strong>\u00a0after repeated flouting of norms by political parties.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

        Legal Provisions<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/mark><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
          \n
        • The MCC is\u00a0not enforceable by law;<\/strong>\u00a0it serves only as a guiding principle.\u00a0<\/strong>However, certain provisions of the MCC may be enforced through\u00a0invoking corresponding provisions in other statutes\u00a0<\/strong>such as the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and Representation of the People Act, 1951.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • While it\u00a0does not enjoy any statutory backing<\/strong>, the\u00a0Supreme Court has upheld its sanctity<\/strong>\u00a0on several occasions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

          When does the MCC come into force?<\/strong><\/mark><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
            \n
          • The MCC\u00a0comes into force\u00a0immediately\u00a0when the election schedule is announced\u00a0<\/strong>by the Election Commission and\u00a0remains\u00a0in operation till the election process is\u00a0complete,\u00a0i.e.\u00a0results are announced.\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • It is\u00a0enforced throughout India\u00a0<\/strong>in case of\u00a0General elections,\u00a0<\/strong>and the\u00a0State up for polls<\/strong>\u00a0in case of\u00a0Legislative Assembly elections.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • All\u00a0organisations, committees, corporations, commissions\u00a0<\/strong>(for\u00a0e.g.\u00a0Transport authorities, Jal boards)\u00a0funded wholly or partially by the Centre or State are bound by the MCC.\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • While\u00a0listed political parties and candidates<\/strong>\u00a0are bound to follow the MCC,\u00a0even non-political\u00a0organisations<\/strong>\u00a0which hold campaigns\u00a0favouring\u00a0a political party or candidate are bound to follow specific guidelines mentioned by the EC.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

            What happens once MCC is enforced?<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/mark><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
              \n
            • No appeals to religion, caste, or communal sentiments.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • Criticism must focus on policies, performance, and\u00a0programmes, not private lives.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • Official mass media cannot be used for biased coverage\u00a0favouring\u00a0the ruling party.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • Illegal activities like bribing, intimidation, impersonation, or campaigning near polling stations are prohibited.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • Demonstrations outside private homes or use of someone else’s property for campaigning are banned.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • Parties must inform authorities about meetings and processions; permissions for loudspeakers or gatherings must be obtained.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • Police instructions must be followed to\u00a0maintain\u00a0peace and manage traffic.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • Carrying harmful objects or burning effigies is prohibited.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • Governments cannot use official machinery, funds, or positions for campaigning.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • No announcements of financial grants, new projects, infrastructure promises, or ad-hoc appointments that could influence voters.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • Government facilities, including transport,\u00a0rest\u00a0houses, and public spaces, must be equally available to all parties.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • Election manifestos must follow constitutional principles, be realistic, and cannot be released during the prohibited period before polling.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • The Election Commission has also issued directions to political parties for responsible and ethical use of social media in election campaigning.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

              Why in\u00a0News?<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/mark><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
                \n
              • The Election Commission of India has enforced the Model Code of Conduct soon after announcing the schedule for Assembly elections in five states and one Union Territory,\u00a0Keralam, West Bengal, Assam,\u00a0Tamil Nadu\u00a0and Puducherry.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                Model Code of Conduct About Timeline Legal Provisions When does the MCC come into force? What happens once MCC is enforced? Why in\u00a0News?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-969","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-polity"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/materials.simplycurrentaffairs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/969","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/materials.simplycurrentaffairs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/materials.simplycurrentaffairs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/materials.simplycurrentaffairs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/materials.simplycurrentaffairs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=969"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/materials.simplycurrentaffairs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/969\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":970,"href":"https:\/\/materials.simplycurrentaffairs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/969\/revisions\/970"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/materials.simplycurrentaffairs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/materials.simplycurrentaffairs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/materials.simplycurrentaffairs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}