Key Points

With the announcement of the General Election to the Legislative Assembly of Bihar and the bye-elections to 8 Assembly Constituencies on October 6, the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) has come into force.

In its press note, the poll body noted that these provisions also apply to the content being posted on the internet, including social media, by candidates and political parties.

"As per the provisions of MCC, criticism of other parties when made shall be confined to their policies and programme, past record and work. Parties and candidates shall refrain from criticism of all aspects of private life not connected with the public activities of the leaders or workers of other parties. Criticism of other parties or their workers based on unverified allegations or distortion shall be avoided," ECI's statement read.

"The Commission advised the parties against misuse of AI based tools to create deep fakes that distort information or propagate misinformation over social media platforms emphasizing the need to uphold the integrity of the electoral process," the statement said.

On taking necessary measures and putting out AI disclaimers, ECI's statement read, "Further, all Political Parties and their leaders, candidates and star campaigners shall take necessary measures for prominent labeling of Al-generated/synthetic content, if any, being shared for campaigning through their social media platforms or in the formof advertisements using clear notations such as "Al-Generated", "Digitally Enhanced", or "Synthetic Content".

The ECI further noted that it is maintaining a strict watch on social media platforms to ensure that the election atmosphere remains unvitiated. "Strict watch on social media posts is being kept to ensure that the election atmosphere is not vitiated. The Commission has made elaborate arrangements for ensuring the effective implementation of MCC Guidelines. Any violation of these Guidelines would be dealt with strictly," the EC added.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission has announced the schedule for the Bihar Assembly elections. The 243 Assembly seats will go to the polls in two phases on November 6 and November 11, with the counting of votes scheduled to take place on November 14.

The total number of electors in the final list stands at 7.42 crore, while there were 7.89 crore electors as of June 24 this year. An Election Commission press release stated that 65 lakh voters were removed from the draft list, and the number of electors in the draft list as of August 1, 2025, stood at 7.24 crore.

- ANI