The Model Code of Conduct remains a toothless tiger when it comes to the party in power using public resources for electoral campaigns. Critically examine with reference to constitutional provisions and recent controversies.

The Model Code of Conduct (MCC) is a non-statutory set of guidelines the Election Commission of India (ECI) issues under its Article 324 supervisory power, operative from the announcement of the poll schedule till results [2]. Its Part VII binds the "party in power" against using official machinery, transport or public exchequer for campaign advantage [1]. The 2026 broadcast controversy shows the charge is half-true: the gap is enforcement will, not constitutional power.

Where the "toothless tiger" charge holds

• No penal statute of its own — violations must be routed through the Representation of the People Act, 1951 or general criminal law; the MCC alone creates no offence.
• Structural conflict: Doordarshan and All India Radio sit under Prasar Bharati/Ministry of I&B, while the regulator during polls is the ECI — the campaigner effectively controls the platform.
• Discretion and delay: enforcement is notice-based, with no automatic stay. The PM's April 18, 2026 national broadcast naming Opposition parties preceded the April 23 Tamil Nadu and West Bengal polls by five days — any inquiry would outlive the vote.
• Asymmetry: recognition can be suspended under Para 16A, Election Symbols Order, 1968, but it is never invoked against a ruling national party.

Where the MCC does bite

• Article 324 is a "reservoir of power" (Mohinder Singh Gill v. CEC, 1978), letting the ECI act where Parliament is silent.
• The Code was in force from 15 March 2026 for the Tamil Nadu–West Bengal elections, with express bans on official-vehicle misuse and publicity at public cost [3].
• Enforcement machinery is real: over 3.2 lakh cVIGIL complaints, 96% resolved within 100 minutes [3]; the ECI has publicly acted on MCC breaches [4].
• Moral sanction, since the Seshan era, still shapes ministerial conduct.

The MCC is thus toothed at the periphery and toothless at the apex. Restoring credibility needs time-bound adjudication of complaints against the party in power, clear ECI guidelines on public broadcasters during the operative period, and eventual statutory backing — so that Article 324's promise of free and fair elections binds the powerful as tightly as the ordinary candidate.