The Rules of the Last Mile: campaign communication law for the 2027 election cycle

Where the calendar stands

The Election Commission's table of legislative terms shows no state assembly whose term ends in the rest of 2026 [15]. Bye-elections continue, and the certification rules described below were applied to one as recently as September 2026 [14].

The Commission had announced no schedule for these states when this note was written. A press report of 7 September 2026 expects the first five to vote together in February and March 2027, with the announcement possibly in January [16].

The Model Code of Conduct applies from the day a schedule is announced until the election process is complete [10].

The 48 hours: section 126

Section 126 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 applies in a polling area during the 48 hours ending with the hour fixed for the close of poll. It bars public meetings and processions in connection with an election, the display of election matter by cinematograph, television "or other similar apparatus", and its propagation through concerts, theatre or other entertainment. Election matter is anything intended or calculated to influence or affect the result. The penalty is imprisonment for up to two years, a fine, or both [1].

The section in its present form dates from 1996 and names neither the internet nor print [1]. The Commission has covered that ground by instruction. On 15 March 2019, after a committee report, it advised parties to observe the silence period "on all forms of media" [3]. In April 2026 it said again that television, radio, print and social media must all comply [5]. Its press notes and the Model Code add specific restrictions for the 48 hours:

• Political advertisements on television, cable, radio and in cinema halls, bulk SMS and voice messages, and audio-visual displays are prohibited in the polling area [2].
• Broadcasters should not carry opinion polls, or panel views that favour or prejudice a party or candidate [2].
• Leaders are asked not to give press conferences or interviews on election matters, and loudspeakers on vehicles are not permitted [3].
• A manifesto may not be released [9].

In a multi-phase election, the Commission says section 126 does not apply to content about a later phase that makes no reference to the area under silence [2], but campaigning elsewhere must carry no direct or indirect appeal for support in constituencies observing silence [3]. A boosted post rarely stops at a constituency boundary, so both the targeting and the script need checking.

How the section treats third-party content is unsettled. The 2013 social media instruction left open how to deal with content posted by people other than candidates and parties [2], and the later instructions we read do not say whether a supporter's unpaid post is display under section 126(1)(b). Take advice before relying on either reading.

Exit polls: section 126A

Section 126A bars conducting an exit poll and publishing or disseminating its result, in print, on electronic media or in any other manner, during a period the Commission notifies. For a general election that period may run from the start of polling on the first day until half an hour after polls close in all the states and union territories voting. Electronic media is defined to include the internet, and the penalty is the same as under section 126. Under section 126B, where a company commits the offence, the people in charge of its business are liable with it unless they prove they did not know or exercised due diligence. "Company" there includes a firm or other association of individuals [1].

Pre-certification of advertisements

The rule comes from a Supreme Court order of 13 April 2004, which the Commission implemented two days later and extended to websites and social media on 25 October 2013 [2]. For the 2026 assembly elections the Commission required parties, candidates and anyone else to obtain a certificate from a Media Certification and Monitoring Committee (MCMC) before releasing a political advertisement on television, radio, public audio-visual displays, e-papers, bulk SMS and voice messages, or social media. Candidates and individuals apply to the district committee, registered parties to the state committee, and appeals go to a committee headed by the Chief Electoral Officer [4].

Under the 2004 order, registered national and state parties and contesting candidates apply at least three days before the proposed telecast, and any other person, or an unregistered party, at least seven days before. The application states the cost of production and the approximate cost of the proposed telecast [11]. Training material for election officers dated August 2024 gives the same two periods [12]. A district election officer's instructions for a bye-election in September 2026, as reported, gave recognised parties three days and put independent candidates and other organisations at seven [14], so confirm the deadline with the committee that will receive the application. Print advertisements need a certificate only on poll day and the day before, under instructions the Commission issues for each election, and the application must be made two days ahead [2][12][14].

The same training material says that messages, comments, photos and videos which a party or candidate posts on its own account or blog are not treated as political advertisements [12]. The Model Code still applies to those posts, and the cost of producing them still goes into the expenditure account [2]. Where it is unclear whether a piece of content is a post or an advertisement, ask the MCMC in writing and keep the answer.

Paid news

The Commission uses the Press Council's definition: news or analysis carried in any media for a price, paid in cash or in kind. Where the district MCMC suspects an advertisement presented as news, the Returning Officer issues a notice and the candidate has 48 hours to reply. If the finding stands, the actual cost, or a notional cost at government advertising rates, is added to the candidate's election account whether or not money changed hands. Appeals lie to the state MCMC and then to the Commission, each within 48 hours [11][12].

The Commission proposed making paid news an electoral offence [11]. The copy of the Act we read contains no such offence [1], and the training material of August 2024 says paid news is not an electoral offence [12], so the consequence for a candidate runs through the expenditure account.

Counting digital spend

Section 77 requires every candidate to keep a separate and correct account of all election expenditure incurred or authorised between nomination and the declaration of the result, and caps the total at a prescribed amount [1]. Under the notification of 6 January 2022, the ceiling per assembly constituency is Rs 28 lakh in Goa and Manipur and Rs 40 lakh in the other five states listed above [13]. The Commission was still citing that notification in March 2026 [3]; check for a revision before nominations open.

The 2013 instruction puts digital spend inside the account: payments to internet companies and websites for advertisements, the cost of creating content, and the wages of the team that runs the social media accounts [2]. Candidates list their authentic social media accounts in the nomination affidavit, and parties file their own statement of spending on internet and social media campaigning within 75 days of the completion of an assembly election [4]. Election payments above Rs 10,000 go by cheque, draft or electronic transfer linked to the bank account the candidate opens for the election [3].

The account must be lodged with the District Election Officer within 30 days of the date of election of the returned candidate. Failure without good reason brings disqualification for three years under section 10A, and spending in breach of section 77 is a corrupt practice [1].

What may be said: the Model Code and the Act

The Commission describes the Model Code as a set of norms evolved with the consensus of political parties, and says it ensures the Code's observance in discharging its duties under Article 324 of the Constitution [10]. The Code applies to what candidates and parties post online [2]. Its first part confines criticism of other parties to their policies, programme, past record and work, and rules out criticism of private life unconnected with public activities and criticism based on unverified allegations. It prohibits appeals to caste or communal feelings and the use of places of worship for election propaganda [9].

Behind the Code sit provisions of the Act. Under section 123 it is a corrupt practice for a candidate, an agent, or anyone acting with the consent of the candidate or the election agent to appeal for votes on the ground of religion, race, caste, community or language, or to promote enmity between classes of citizens on those grounds. So is publishing a false statement of fact about a candidate's personal character or conduct, where the publisher believes it false or does not believe it true and the statement is reasonably calculated to prejudice that candidate's prospects. Corrupt practices are tried by the High Court on an election petition and can void the election. Section 125 makes promoting such enmity in connection with an election an offence punishable with up to three years' imprisonment, a fine, or both [1].

Synthetic content

The Commission issued three advisories between May 2024 and October 2025. On 6 May 2024 it directed parties not to circulate deepfake audio or video and to remove such content within three hours of it being brought to their notice [6]. On 16 January 2025 it advised parties to label images, video and audio generated or significantly altered by AI, and to add a disclaimer wherever campaign advertisements use synthetic content [7]. The advisory of 24 October 2025 issued directions to parties, candidates and campaign representatives [7][8]:

• The label ("AI-Generated", "Digitally Enhanced" or "Synthetic Content") must cover at least 10% of the visible display area, or the first 10% of the duration for audio, and sit at the top of the screen in video.
• The entity responsible for generating the content must be named in the metadata or the caption.
• No content may be published or forwarded that is unlawful and misrepresents a person's identity, appearance or voice without consent in a manner reasonably likely to mislead or deceive voters.
• Such content found on official party handles must come down within three hours of being noticed or reported.
• Parties must keep internal records of all AI-generated campaign material, with creator details and timestamps, for verification when the Commission asks.

The directions took effect at once and apply to all general and bye-elections until further orders [7]. The Commission restated the labelling and three-hour requirements during the 2026 assembly elections. The same release reported that more than 11,000 social media posts and URLs of all kinds had been acted on between 15 March and 19 April 2026, by removal, FIR, clarification or rebuttal [5].

The same piece of synthetic content now answers to two labelling rules: the Commission's, which binds the party, and the IT rules, which bind the platform.

The second rule comes from amendments to the Information Technology intermediary rules, in force from 20 February 2026. An intermediary whose service can be used to create or share synthetically generated information must label it prominently and embed provenance metadata where technically feasible. A significant social media intermediary must ask users to declare synthetic content and label what is confirmed as synthetic. The time to act on a court order or a written government intimation fell from 36 hours to three [17]. A further draft, published for consultation in March and April 2026, would require the label to stay visible for the whole duration of the content [18]. A law-firm tracker dated 8 September 2026 still listed it as a draft [19].

The platforms' voluntary code

A Voluntary Code of Ethics dated 20 March 2019, developed by the Internet and Mobile Association of India for the participating social media platforms, was first applied to that year's general election. The association agreed in September 2019 that it would be observed in all elections [2], and the Commission applied it again in the 2026 assembly elections [3]. Under it the platforms acknowledge or process, within three hours, valid legal orders on section 126 violations notified by the Commission. They give advertisers a way to submit MCMC certificates, and act on paid political advertisements the Commission notifies as uncertified [2].

The rules in one table

ARKA's Ground Control desk plans messaging and field organisation inside these rules. It does not give legal advice; questions of law go to an advocate engaged by the campaign.

What to do with this

• Build a backward calendar from each state's term end and update it when the schedule is announced.
• Tie every paid digital and broadcast asset to an MCMC application, confirm the filing deadline with the committee, and store the certificate with the creative.
• Set a hard stop for the 48 hours in each polling area: pause scheduled and boosted posts, bulk SMS and voice campaigns, and check geo-targeting.
• Label every synthetic asset to the October 2025 specification and keep a register with creator and timestamp.
• Name one person who can take content down within three hours, at any hour.
• Book digital costs as they are incurred, including content production and the social media team's wages.
• Read scripts against Part I of the Model Code and section 123 before release.