Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin and DMK candidate Nithya Sukumar during a campaign for the upcoming Assembly election, in Kanchipuram on Monday (March 30, 2026).
| Photo Credit: ANI
The Press Council of India (PCI) has advised print media to follow the Guidelines on Election Reporting and Norms of Journalistic Conduct-2022 on “paid news” during the coming elections.
The media has also been asked to abide by the provisions related to “pre-poll” and “exit polls” in a separate advisory.
The elections are to be held in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Puducherry, and bypolls in Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Nagaland, and Tripura.
“The newspapers are not expected to indulge in unhealthy election campaigns, exaggerated reports about any candidate/party or incident during the elections. In practice, two or three closely contesting candidates attract all the media attention. While reporting on the actual campaign, a newspaper may not leave out any important point raised by a candidate and make an attack on his or her opponent,” it said.
Stating that the Press should eschew reports that tend to promote feelings of enmity or hatred between people on the grounds of religion, race, caste, community or language, the council said it should also refrain from publishing false or critical statements about the personal character and conduct of any candidate, etc.
“No person shall conduct any exit poll and publish or publicize by means of the print or electronic media or disseminate in any other manner, whatsoever, the result of any exit poll during such period, as may be notified by the Election Commission in this regard,” it said, adding that any person who contravenes the provisions concerned would be punishable with imprisonment for a term that may extend to two years, or with fine, or both.
Published – March 30, 2026 09:50 pm IST
