The recently concluded Jharkhand assembly elections have once again highlighted the inability of social media platforms to effectively enforce electoral regulations. Despite the guidelines set forth by the Election Commission of India (ECI), violations continue to occur, raising concerns about the integrity of the electoral process. This highlights the challenge of ensuring adherence to rules by candidates, political parties, and platforms like Meta, which owns Facebook.
According to Section 126(1)(b) of the Representation of the People Act 1951, a mandatory ‘silence period’ begins 48 hours before the conclusion of polling. This period prohibits any form of campaigning, including advertisements, to allow voters to make decisions without undue influence. The ECI has consistently emphasized the importance of this provision and issued guidelines to political parties and social media platforms to ensure compliance with the Model Code of Conduct.
The Jharkhand assembly elections were conducted in two phases on November 13 and November 20, 2024. Ahead of the elections, on November 9, the ECI issued specific instructions regarding media coverage during the silence period, explicitly banning election-related content on platforms like television and social media during this crucial time frame.
ECI press note.
Despite these directives, several Facebook pages directly linked to BJP candidates and proxy pages were found running election advertisements during the silence period.
On November 19, 2024, just a day before the final phase of polling, Alt News flagged seven such pages to Meta for violating the rules. These included campaign pages for individual BJP leaders, proxy groups, and a news portal.
The following pages were identified for breaching the ECI guidelines:
- The RajDharma
- Madhupur Maange Ganga Narayan Singh
- Jarmundi Maange Devendra Kunwar
- Jama Ka Bharosa Suresh Murmu
- Shikaripara Maange Paritosh Soren
- Ek Akela Sab Par Bhari
- Jharkhand Chaupal – झारखंड चौपाल
Meta was alerted about these violations, but as of now, no official response has been received. This report will be updated if and when Meta issues a clarification.
Following the alert by Alt News, several political advertisements on proxy pages like Jharkhand Chaupal and Ek Akela Sab Par Bhari were locally removed. These pages were among the largest spenders on ads during the Jharkhand elections.
