Bihar Assembly Election: Election Commission bars print ads on poll eve and voting day without prior certification

Ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday said that no political party, candidate, organisation or individual would be permitted to publish advertisements in print media on the poll day and the day preceding it unless the content has been pre-certified by the Media Certification and Monitoring Committee (MCMC).

For the Bihar polls scheduled in two phases on November 6 and 11, the restriction will apply on November 5 and 6 for Phase I, and November 10 and 11 for Phase II. The Commission has also announced byelections to eight other Assembly constituencies.

“Applicants seeking pre-certification for political advertisements in print media must apply to the MCMC not later than two days prior to the proposed date of publication of the advertisement,” the ECI said in a statement.

The Commission said the measure was intended to ensure a fair campaign environment and prevent misinformation or last-minute manipulation through unverified content.

To facilitate timely approval, MCMCs at the State and district levels have been directed to examine and pre-certify such advertisements expeditiously.

Last week, the poll body instructed political parties to obtain pre-certification for all advertisements and directed candidates to declare their “authentic” social media accounts while filing nominations.

The ECI, through its October 9 order, made it mandatory for all recognised national and State parties, as well as contesting candidates, to seek prior approval from the MCMC for all political advertisements on electronic and social media before publication.

The MCMC also monitors suspected cases of paid news and is empowered to take appropriate action in such instances.

Additionally, the ECI reiterated that the dissemination of bulk SMSs and audio messages is prohibited during the 48-hour ‘silence period’ before the conclusion of polling.