The Election Commission of India’s model code of conduct (MCC) for elections is an effort to create a level playing field for parties and to give the voter, the most important actor in the entire exercise, a chance to take an informed decision on who should decide policies in the next five years. This is in the interest of not just the voter and the parties but also the nation.
The first of item in the MCC says “no party or candidate shall include any activity which may aggravate existing differences or create mutual hatred or cause tension between different castes and communities, religious or linguistic”. It goes on to add that, criticism of other political parties, when made, shall be confined to their policies and programme, past record and work.
There have been instances in the past when the EC had on almost on a daily basis issued warnings or reprimands to parties and candidates. And the early signals towards its repeat have already started showing in the way the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has latched on to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s remark on “destroying the Shakti”. Mr Gandhi has clarified that he was referring to the misuse of power by the Union government, a charge the Opposition leaders have been making for quite some time. But Mr Modi insists upon seeing it as an insult to the goddess and the Hindu religion as a whole. Both are advised to conduct their campaigns in such a way that they do not “aggravate existing differences or create mutual hatred” between faiths and cultures.
The MCC would want parties and candidates to refrain from criticism of all aspects of the private life of their rivals unconnected with their public activities. However, parties often think that there are takers for allegations of a personal nature. Character assassination has been a favourite tool in electoral battles. Fake narratives would often be created to target opponents as well. Precious time would have been lost by the time the victim got to know about it and prepared a counter-narrative. As Mark Twain said, “A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.” The advent of social media powered by technology has, however, corrected that imbalance to some extent. The timely arrival of truth can thus trigger a sympathy wave for the victim. But candidates and parties will do well to concentrate on the policies and programmes on their agenda.
Elections have in the past been declared invalid because the law and the model code expressly prohibit the use of caste or religious feelings for securing votes. The code is very clear that no place of worship should be used as a forum for election propaganda. Appeals to caste or religion would make the election process in a country of such diversity a charade and will undermine the very principles on which our nation is built.
While it is important that the EC be prompt in taking action against violators of both the law and the model code, there is only so much any authority can do to monitor the activities of every candidate and party. It is for the political parties and their leaders to show how the campaigns can be conducted in the spirit of democracy.
