How the Model Code of Conduct Works, and When It Ends

The Model Code of Conduct is the set of norms that political parties must follow once the Election Commission of India announces an election, and that ministers and governments must observe in the same period. It covers general elections, bye-elections and legislative council polls. The code does not always end everywhere at the same time.

The 2026 cycle shows how this works in practice. The code covered assembly elections in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, along with bye-elections in Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Nagaland and Tripura. It was lifted on 7 May 2026 everywhere except one constituency in West Bengal. The sections below cover when the code starts, which polls it covers, what it restricts, how parties and candidates must conduct themselves, what manifestos and polling day require, and how the code ends.

When the Code Takes Effect

The code applies once elections are announced. Onmanorama says the code had been in place since 15 March 2026, soon after the Election Commission of India announced the poll schedule.

The Commission's own Model Code of Conduct page ties its restrictions to the time elections are announced by the Commission. A copy of the code hosted by the Chief Electoral Officer of Himachal Pradesh says the code is enforced from the date of announcement of election schedule by the Election Commission and is operational till the process of elections are completed.

Onmanorama describes the code as the set of norms that political parties must follow after elections are announced. The restrictions on ministers and officials covered below apply in the same period.

The 2024 Lok Sabha cycle followed a similar sequence. News On AIR reports that the code had been in effect since 16 March 2024, when the Lok Sabha elections were announced, and that it was lifted after the Lok Sabha poll results were announced.

Which Polls the Code Covers

The code covers general elections to state legislative assemblies and bye-elections to assembly seats. The 2026 general elections were held in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. The Government of Nagaland's copy of the directions lists the bye-elections announced: Ponda in Goa, Umreth in Gujarat, Bagalkot and Davanagere South in Karnataka, Rahuri and Baramati in Maharashtra, Koridang ST in Nagaland, and Dharmanagar in Tripura.

The Himachal Pradesh copy describes the code as a set of norms evolved with the consensus of political parties. It governs the conduct of political parties and candidates during election periods, and it also sets rules for the party in power.

Legislative council polls are covered as well. In 2024 the code stayed in place for council seats after the Lok Sabha results were announced, a case described under how the code ends.

The Falta case described below shows that a single seat can remain under the code after the rest of the states have been released from it.

What the Code Restricts for Ministers

Ministers may not combine official visits with political campaigning. Under the 2026 directions, they are barred from announcing financial grants, laying foundation stones or making development pledges after the announcement.

They may not use government vehicles, aircraft, machinery or personnel for campaigning. The Commission's page says government transport, including official aircraft and vehicles, may not be used, and that government accommodation may not be monopolised by the party in power, and that other parties and candidates must be allowed to use it in a fair manner.

Public funds may not be used for advertisements that showcase government achievements. Ministers may not sanction grants from discretionary funds once an election is announced, and the Commission's page says the same rule applies from the time elections are announced.

Officials are covered too. The Nagaland copy of the directions bans the transfer of officials involved in election duties, from chief electoral officers to police officers deployed for election work, until the completion of elections. The Himachal Pradesh copy says the party in power must ensure that no cause is given for any complaint that it has used its official position for the purposes of its election campaign.

Conduct of Parties and Candidates

The Commission's page says parties must inform the local police of the venue and time of any meeting well in time, and that organisers must comply with restrictive orders and traffic regulations. Parties must ensure their supporters do not break up rival meetings or processions, and posters issued by one party may not be removed by workers of another.

The Himachal Pradesh copy says parties and candidates must avoid criticism based on unverified allegations or distortion, and must avoid any activity that may aggravate existing differences or cause tension between castes and communities. It also says parties and candidates must refrain from criticism of private life not connected with the public activities of other parties' leaders or workers.

Loudspeakers need prior written permission from the police, and may not be used at night between 10.00 P.M. and 6.00 A.M., according to the same copy.

The code does not always end everywhere at the same time.

Manifestos and Polling Day

In Puducherry, the guidance on manifestos, as reported by News On AIR, requires parties to submit three copies of their election manifesto to the Chief Electoral Officer within three days of release. Where a manifesto is in a regional language, an English translation must be provided.

In Puducherry, parties must also submit a declaration that all promises and schemes in the manifesto comply with the Model Code of Conduct. They are advised to set out the rationale for each promise, the financial resources needed to meet it and the plan for implementing it.

The Commission stressed that parties should make only "realistic and implementable promises". The Puducherry Chief Electoral Officer instructed that no manifestos be released during the 48-hour silence period before the close of polling, as per the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

The copy reported by News On AIR names the Puducherry assembly election among the polls it covers.

On polling day, the Commission's page says parties must cooperate with election officials, supply worker badges and refrain from serving liquor in the 48 hours before polling. Candidates' camps are to be kept simple, without propaganda materials.

The Himachal Pradesh copy says campaigning ceases 48 hours before the close of poll, and that no person may go armed within the neighbourhood of a polling station on polling day.

How the Code Ends, Including the Falta Exception

The code ends after the results of the polls are declared. The News Mill reports that on 7 May 2026 the Commission said the code had ceased to be in operation with immediate effect after the results of the 2026 assembly polls, except in one constituency.

The Himachal Pradesh copy says the code is operational till the process of elections are completed. The Commission's May 2026 order, as reported, ceased to be in operation with immediate effect after the results were declared.

Some polls keep the code in force for longer. News On AIR reports that in June 2024 the Commission lifted the code after the Lok Sabha results, but kept it in place for the graduates' and teachers' constituencies of Karnataka, Maharashtra and Telangana, which had biennial or bye-elections to their legislative councils.

The code stayed in force in the Falta Assembly constituency, number 144 in West Bengal, where the Commission ordered fresh polling. The News Mill reports that the Commission cited serious electoral offences that undermined the democratic process during the initial poll on 29 April.

According to the same report, fresh polling was scheduled for all 285 polling stations in Falta on 21 May 2026, with counting on 24 May. The code was lifted everywhere else on 7 May.

The outcome of the Falta fresh poll is not part of this account.