General election 2024: With MCC in place, income support plans, new trade pacts to be on hold

The general election for 543 Lok Sabha seats will be held in seven phases from April 19

With the Election Commission of India (ECI) declaring the dates for the 2024 Lok Sabha election on March 16, the model code of conduct (MCC) is in force. Among a host of other things, perhaps the most important is that with the MCC now in play, the Union and state governments cannot announce any new policy decisions.

What is MCC?

The MCC is a guideline laid down by the ECI for political parties and candidates ahead of elections.

This is to ensure a  level playing field between the contesting parties and candidates and to see that the process does not get vitiated. The ECI issues these orders under Article 324 of the Constitution that mandates the body to hold free and fair elections.

One of the many things that this entails is that the ECI will aim to ensure that political parties do not get a free rein in declaring freebies of any kind since it can influence voters.

The MCC that kicked in on March 16 will be in effect till the results of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls are declared on June 4. The upcoming elections will be conducted in seven phases from April 19 to June 1.

The set of guidelines governs state governments as well as the Centre to ensure ruling parties do not declare policy measures in the run up to polls that could possibly sway voting decisions. Any charge of violation of the MCC is investigated by the ECI , which is authorised to impose strictures on the parties concerned if any wrongdoing is established.

Specific guidelines for governments

According to the rules laid out by the ECI, from the time election dates are announced, ministers and others in authority will not announce financial grants in any form or make promises along these lines. Apart from this, the commission includes the following norms under the MCC:

1) Ministers and other authorities will not sanction grants/payments out of discretionary funds from the time elections are announced.

2) Ministers or other authorities barring civil servants will not lay foundation stones for projects or schemes of any kind.

3) They cannot make any promise of development projects, including construction of roads and provision of drinking water facilities, among others.

4) No ad-hoc appointments are allowed in the government or in public sector undertakings that may have influence on voter behaviour.

What does this mean for policymaking?

The MCC in effect puts an end to speculations or expectations over a slew of  high-profile decisions ranging from signing trade pacts to more income support for farmers.

To be sure, the ECI’s code of conduct does not restrict authorities from continuing ongoing negotiations, but any new measures or top-ups may have to wait till after the new government is formed.
For example, speculation was rife that the Centre may raise the payout under the PM Kisan farmer income support scheme to Rs 9,000 a year from Rs 6,000 currently. And, since the interim budget presented on February 1  did not contain such an announcement, the MCC kicking in effectively means that all such bets are on hold till June 4.

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The Union government is also in the thick of trade treaty negotiations with the likes of the UK and Oman, to name a few. With the MCC now in force, any foreign trade agreement (FTA), if agreed on, can be signed only after the counting of votes.

However, authorities can continue talks for the proposed FTAs as clarified by Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal on March 15.

“Model code of conduct does not restrain any ongoing projects. These are ongoing negotiations; these are not new negotiations. So (FTA) negotiations will continue at the same pace,” Barthwal said.

However, when asked if the government would be able to sign FTAs on which talks are nearing finality with the MCC kicking in, Barthwal said that they will take a call if such a situation arises.

Can MCC be relaxed for policy decisions?
In an event that a certain policy measure is required to be announced or sealed during the period the MCC is in force, state or central governments can seek prior permission from the ECI to do so.

Central or state government ministries or departments can directly lodge the MCC relaxation requests online for clearance.

In earlier elections, all relaxations and violation cases were handled manually, making it time-consuming. During the 2019 Lok Sabha election, a unified portal was introduced to facilitate these permissions.

Since the inception of the digital process, state secretaries have logged 889 relaxation requests while the number for central ministries is 131 so far, according to the ECI website.