7 months ago
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As Bihar prepares for signifier 1 of Assembly polls connected November 6, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has warned that bulk SMSes and audio messages during the 48-hour ‘silence period’ which starts earlier the decision of voting, is prohibited.
In a enactment issued connected October 9 outlining campaigning restrictions, the canvass authorization said, governmental advertisements connected immoderate predetermination substance successful TV, cablegram networks, radio, cinema halls, usage of bulk SMS/voice messages, audio ocular displays successful immoderate polling country during the play of 48 hours ending with the hr fixed for the decision of the canvass for immoderate predetermination successful the polling country is prohibited.
Separately, successful a connection connected Tuesday (October 14, 2025), the ECI said it has issued orders connected October 9, requiring each registered and nationalist and authorities governmental enactment and each contesting campaigner to use to the Media Certification and Monitoring Committee (MCMC) for pre-certification of each governmental advertisements connected physics media, including societal media earlier publication.
MCMCs person been constituted astatine the territory and State levels for pre-certification of governmental advertisements arsenic per the prescribed guidelines.
No governmental advertisements are to beryllium released to immoderate internet-based media/websites, including societal media websites, by governmental parties oregon candidates without pre-certification from the respective MCMC, it cautioned.
The MCMCs volition besides support a strict vigil connected suspected cases of paid quality successful the media and instrumentality suitable action.
Given the penetration of societal media successful the electoral landscape, candidates person besides been instructed to stock the details of their authentic societal media accounts astatine the clip of filing nomination.
Citing provisions of the electoral instrumentality and a consequent Supreme Court directions, it said governmental parties should besides taxable a connection of expenditure incurred connected campaigning done internet, including societal media websites to the ECI wrong 75 days of the completion of the assembly elections.
"Such expenditure, among different things, shall see payments made to net companies and websites for carrying advertisements and besides run related expenditure connected improvement of contented and operational expenditure incurred to support their societal media accounts," the predetermination watchdog noted.
Bihar goes to polls successful 2 phases connected November 6 and 11, portion counting takes spot connected November 14.
