The Election Commission’s model code of conduct has been in news more for its violation than for maintaining the sanctity of the election process. Hate speech, communal and casteist appeal, use of money power, spread of misinformation through social media and misuse of public and private media platforms have been rampant in assembly as well as Lok Sabha elections over the decades. Election Commissioner T N Seshan had formalised a set of codes in 1991 to be followed by the ruling and opposition parties. However, there has been a lack of effective implementation of the code.
No major action has been taken by the EC since the disqualification of Indira Gandhi from Rae Bareli in 1975 on charges of misusing government machinery during election. In the 1979 general elections, held after her disqualification, the EC formulated a comprehensive model code with special focus on regulating the conduct of the party in power. There have been many additions to the code since then. There has clearly been no dearth of good intentions. The problem comes in acting on those intentions. In the recent elections, welfare schemes have been extended and policy decisions announced in the middle of elections. Complaints to the Election Commission have resulted in little or no action. The EC’s conduct has been questioned by the opposition parties, with some of them going so far as to describe it as the handmaiden of the party in power.
The demand for a level playing field could be truly met only by a fair and strict implementation of the model code of conduct. This is unlikely to happen until the code of conduct is made legally enforceable. Some recommendations to this effect were made in the past by parliamentarians. But they met with the EC’s opposition. The commission has held that litigation over enforcement of the code could endlessly delay elections. Therefore, for the timely conduct of elections, the model code should remain out of the purview of courts. Some provisions of the code could, of course, be enforced using different laws. But as a whole, the code remains out of the purview of the courts. So long as election commissioners are appointed by the government—that is, the party in power—and the code lacks legal teeth, a level playing field will be difficult to achieve.