The 2nd phase of the Lok Sabha elections 2024 is now underway in full steam. The Election Commission (EC) spearheads the largest democratic election in the world; it is also in charge of enforcing poll discipline and ensuring that campaign speeches do not breach legal mandates and the Model Code of Conduct.

In what marks a first, the EC has issued a notice on April 25 for violating the Model Code of Conduct based on complaints against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. However, the notice has been sent to Bharatiya Janata Party president J.P Nadda, and not to Mr. Modi directly. The notice does not mention the Prime Minister by name at all. The complaints affixed to the notice, however, were those made by the Congress against Mr. Modi’s “malicious election speech delivered at Banswara (Rajasthan)” and complaints from other parties, such as the Communist Party of India (Marxist).

A similar notice was served to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, related to complaints against both him and Rahul Gandhi. Both parties have been asked by the E.C to respond to the notices by 11 am on April 29. 

According to EC officials, this is the first time in recent history that EC has taken cognisance of a complaint against a Prime Minister. During the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, no action was taken by EC based on complaints by Opposition parties. The fact that the notice was issued to the party presidents and not to the individuals themselves is also an unprecedented action. 

In the notice to Mr. Nadda, EC asked him to urge all party campaigners to “set high standards of political discourse and observe provisions of Model Code of Conduct in letter and spirit.” It also said that while individuals will remain responsible for their speeches, the Commission would address party heads on a case by case basis, indicating that speeches by those in high positions would have more stringent consequences. 

The Congress has termed the sending of the notice to Mr. Nadda instead of Mr. Modi a revealing move, with Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh saying that they were “super cautious” when it comes to the Prime Minister and Home Minister. He also highlighted that there were no complaints against former PMs P.V Narasimha Rao, Atal Bihari Vajpayee or Manmohan Singh. While no action was taken against a previous complaint against the PM, and another against the Home Minister, action was taken against the Assam Chief Minister, Mr. Ramesh highlighted. 

The EC’s notice to Mr. Kharge too did not name either leader. The EC attached complaints by the BJP alleging that Mr. Kharge and Mr. Gandhi violated the MCC during an April 18 speech in Kottayam by falsely alleging that Mr. Modi advocated for ‘one nation, one language, and one religion.’ Mr. Kharge’s comments in a publication, reportedly indicating that President Murmu had not been invited to the Ram Temple ceremony because she was an ST member, were also outlined by the notice. 

During the Lok Sabha elections 2024, the EC has issued notices to Congress’ Supriya Shrinate and Randeep Singh Surjewala, BJP’s Dilip Ghosh, AAP’s Atishi, and BRS’ K. Chandrashekar Rao. These were all, however, addressed directly to the individuals forming the subject of the complaint. Learn more about the Model Code of Conduct through this video.