Political campaigning deadline: The silent period has become redundant

The two-week campaign deadline is in place to address logistical issue, which is to enable ECI personnel to track whether parties or candidates bribing voters

The Election Commission of India (ECI), as mandated by the Representation of the People Act, imposes a specific deadline on political campaigning ahead of any election it supervises. Under the rules, the duration of an election campaign is two weeks after the announcement of the final list of candidates and campaigning must stop 48 hours before voting ends. In the age of the internet and artificial intelligence, this timetable may have outlived its utility. The two-week campaign deadline is in place to address a logistical issue, which is to enable ECI personnel to track whether parties or candidates are bribing