Model code of misconduct
How does a country conduct free and fair elections in a multi-party system where one party controls the government and, hence, the levers of power? And how does it ensure that bitter electioneering does not harm the social fabric?
Democracies across the world have grappled with these questions. India's answer was to implement a model code of conduct. In the run up to elections, governments give up their powers over the bureaucracy to the Election Commission. Moreover, hate-based campaigning, which emphasises communal or caste identities, is forbidden.
Largely a creation of TN Seshan, the election commissioner from 1990 to 1996 and his successor MS Gill, the model code of conduct initially played a significant role at a time of great political tumult.
Lately, however, as the independence of the Election Commission has come under question, the model code has also gone from being an impartial instrument to one that is seen as having significant problems – and is sometimes so arbitrarily applied, it borders on the absurd.
For one, the model code now resembles de facto President's Rule. In West Bengal, the Election Commission has taken over the entire state machinery. Mass transfers have been affected for bureaucrats and policemen. Given that there have been grave doubts about the Election Commission's independence, this, in effect, means Central rule.
So strict is the model code now, that it can even seem bizarre. In the days before polling, tourists have been barred from beach towns in Bengal and the use of motorcycles was restricted (a rule so absurd the Calcutta High Court had to intervene to overrule it). Even private homes have not been spared. If an apartment complex has been designated a polling booth, visitors from other constituencies cannot enter.
However, these draconian measures are not uniformly applied. Even obvious violations of the model code are ignored – if they come from the Bharatiya Janata Party, the ruling party at the Centre responsible for appointing election commissioners.
The most obvious example: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's televised address on April 18 in which he criticised the Opposition right in the middle of the elections. Aired on Doordarshan, the public broadcaster, the speech used government machinery to carry out a party's campaign – an obvious violation of the model code.
A prime minister has already been disqualified for the same offence. In 1975, the Allahabad High Court held that Indira Gandhi, the prime minister at the time, was guilty of using state machinery for her campaign and disqualified her from holding public office for six years. Gandhi's act of using bureaucrats to arrange rostrums was minor compared to Modi's much greater violation of using state-run mass media for partisan purposes.
Even worse, the Election Commission has ignored Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath's Wednesday speech in Kolkata attacking Muslims. He said that Bengal's identity is unrelated to the Kaaba, Islam's holiest site. In theory, this is a clear model code violation, given its communal tilt. But in practice it seems, the Election Commission is more interested in chasing after motorcyclists and tourists.
Follow Scroll's coverage of the 2026 West Bengal elections here.
Record polling. Tamil Nadu and a part of West Bengal went to the polls on Thursday. Tamil Nadu recorded its highest voter turnout, with 84.6% of the voters casting their ballots, according to the Election Commission. In 2021, the turnout was 76.6%.
In West Bengal, the turnout was a record 91.7% in 152 of the state's 294 constituencies where the polls were held. The overall turnout was 85.2% in 2021. Sporadic instances of violence were reported in Bengal.
Strategic allies. United States President Donald Trump shared on social media the transcript of remarks made by an American political commentator that described India as being among "hellhole" countries. The statements were made by Michael Savage, an author and political commentator, who was speaking about birthright citizenship in the US.
Birthright citizenship means that children born in the US automatically become US citizens, regardless of their parents' citizenship or immigration status.
"A baby here becomes an instant citizen, and then they bring the entire family in from China or India or some other hellhole on the planet," Savage said, adding that "there's almost no loyalty to this country amongst the immigrant class coming in today".
The Congress party said it was "extremely insulting and anti-India" that Trump had shared the comments. The Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson initially said that New Delhi had "seen some reports" about Trump's post and "that's where I leave it". However, following the criticism, the government described the remarks shared by Trump as "inappropriate" and "in poor taste".
Political churn. The Aam Aadmi Party's legislature party in the Rajya Sabha was splitting and a faction was merging with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, said AAP MP Raghav Chadha. Chadha claimed that he had the support of two-thirds of AAP's members in the Upper House of Parliament.
The announcement was made at a press conference alongside AAP MPs Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal. Other AAP MPs Harbhajan Singh, Rajinder Gupta, Vikram Sahney and Swati Maliwal were supporting the decision to merge with the BJP, Chadha claimed. The AAP had 10 members in the Rajya Sabha before the split. It has three MPs in the Lok Sabha.
AAP leader Sanjay Singh said that the seven MPs had "backstabbed the people of Punjab", from where they had been elected.
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