What election rules miss about shadow campaigns in India

The integrity of elections forms the bedrock of any democratic nation, and India, being the world's largest democracy, faces unique challenges in ensuring a truly free and fair electoral process. The recent analysis of digital political advertisements during the Bihar Assembly election has brought to light a significant and concerning trend: the rise of "shadow campaigns" orchestrated by third-party actors. This phenomenon, where entities other than official political parties and candidates outspend and out-visible their legitimate counterparts, creates a profound accountability gap in India's electoral landscape.

Historically, electoral campaigning in India relied heavily on traditional methods like rallies, door-to-door canvassing, print media, and public meetings. While concerns about money power and anonymous donations have always existed, the digital revolution has introduced new complexities. The proliferation of social media platforms, messaging apps, and online news portals has transformed how political messages are disseminated. This shift, while offering avenues for broader reach and engagement, has also opened doors for less transparent and harder-to-regulate forms of campaigning.

The Bihar Assembly election study revealed that these third-party actors not only spent more on digital advertisements but also achieved far greater visibility. This means that a significant portion of the electoral discourse, public perception, and voter influence was being shaped by entities operating outside the direct purview of election expenditure laws. Unlike official campaigns, which are mandated to report their spending to the Election Commission of India (ECI) under the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (RPA), these shadow campaigns often operate with opaque funding sources and without clear disclosure of their political affiliations or objectives.

Key stakeholders in this issue include the **Election Commission of India (ECI)**, whose primary mandate under Article 324 of the Constitution is to ensure free and fair elections. The ECI is responsible for regulating election expenditure, enforcing the Model Code of Conduct (MCC), and ensuring transparency. However, its powers are often challenged by the evolving nature of campaigning, especially in the digital realm. **Political parties and candidates** are directly affected, as their officially declared expenses might not reflect the true spending influencing their campaigns, leading to an uneven playing field. The **third-party actors** themselves—which can range from ideologically driven NGOs and advocacy groups to corporate-funded fronts and even anonymous individuals—are central. Their motives vary, but their collective impact is to distort the information environment and potentially manipulate public opinion. Finally, **voters** are perhaps the most crucial stakeholders, as they are subjected to an influx of potentially biased, unverified, or misleading information, making informed decision-making more challenging. Social media platforms like Facebook, Google, and Twitter are also critical stakeholders, as they host these advertisements and have a responsibility to regulate content and ensure transparency regarding political ads.

This issue holds immense significance for India's democratic health. Firstly, it directly undermines **electoral integrity** by allowing unaccounted money and influence to sway election outcomes. This erodes public trust in the electoral process. Secondly, it creates an **uneven playing field**, disadvantaging smaller parties and independent candidates who might not have access to such opaque funding networks. Thirdly, it fosters **corruption and the circulation of black money** within the political system, as undisclosed funds can be channelled through these third-party entities. Furthermore, the lack of transparency makes it difficult to ascertain who truly funds these campaigns, raising concerns about **foreign influence** or undue corporate lobbying in Indian elections. The potential for the spread of **misinformation and disinformation** through these unregulated channels is also a grave concern, threatening social cohesion and informed public discourse.

Historically, the ECI has made efforts to regulate election funding, including setting expenditure limits for candidates and parties (e.g., Rs. 95 lakh for Lok Sabha and Rs. 40 lakh for Assembly elections in larger states, revised in 2022). The RPA, 1951, particularly Section 77, mandates candidates to maintain accounts of election expenses. Section 123 defines corrupt practices, including undue influence and the incurring of expenses without authorization. However, these provisions primarily focus on direct spending by candidates and parties. The challenge with shadow campaigns is their indirect nature. The now-scrapped Electoral Bonds scheme (introduced in 2018), while intended to bring transparency to political funding, paradoxically allowed for anonymous donations, further complicating the issue of opaque money in politics. The Information Technology Act, 2000, provides a framework for regulating digital content, but its application to political advertising by third parties remains complex.

The future implications are profound. Without robust regulatory reforms, the phenomenon of shadow campaigns is likely to intensify, especially with advancements in digital marketing, data analytics, and artificial intelligence. The ECI needs enhanced powers and resources to monitor digital political advertising effectively, potentially requiring amendments to the RPA to broaden the definition of 'election expenditure' to include third-party spending that benefits a candidate or party. There's a need for greater accountability from social media platforms to disclose the funding sources and targeting of political ads. Furthermore, fostering digital literacy among voters is crucial to equip them to critically evaluate information. Addressing this accountability gap is vital for strengthening democratic institutions, ensuring fair competition, and safeguarding the informed choice of the Indian electorate against hidden influences and opaque financial flows.