ECI Orders Pre-Certification of Print Ads for Bihar Polls 2025

GG News Bureau
Patna, 21st Oct: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has announced that all political advertisements in print media during the Bihar Legislative Assembly Elections 2025 and the bye-elections for 8 Assembly Constituencies (ACs) must undergo pre-certification by the Media Certification and Monitoring Committee (MCMC).

The Commission has fixed the polling dates for the two phases of elections as November 6, 2025 (Thursday) and November 11, 2025 (Tuesday). To maintain a fair and transparent campaign environment, the ECI has prohibited the publication of any political advertisement in print media on the poll day and one day before the poll day, unless its content has been cleared by the MCMC at the State or District level.

For Bihar, the restricted dates for print advertisements will be November 5 & 6, 2025 (Phase I) and November 10 & 11, 2025 (Phase II).

Political parties, candidates, or organizations seeking to publish advertisements must submit applications to the respective MCMC offices at least two days prior to the intended publication date.

To facilitate smooth and timely certification, the MCMC units across Bihar have been activated and instructed to expedite decisions on all pre-certification requests.

The directive is part of the ECI’s broader efforts to curb misinformation, ensure ethical campaigning, and uphold the integrity of the electoral process.