On Sunday, the Election Commission of India ordered Delhi’s leading party, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), to modify the content of its Lok Sabha elections campaign song.
The song was released earlier this month. It is a two-minute campaign song crafted and sung by AAP MLA Dilip Pandey.
What is wrong with the campaign song’s content?
The song repeatedly referred to the party leader Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest in a slogan.
The EC highlighted various phrases that contravened the commission’s provision, are as follows.
“The phrase ‘jail ke jawaab me hum vote denge’ with showing an aggressive mob holding the photo of Arvind Kejriwal showing him behind bars. 
“The phrase ‘gunda gardi ke khilaf vote denge and Tanashahi karne wali party ko hum chot denge’ with the clip showing Manish Sisodia being escorted by the police. 
“The phrase ‘Awazein khilaf thi jo sabko jail me daal dia, bas unko hi bahar rakha jisne inko maal dia. Itna lalach, itna nafrat, bhrastachari se mohabbat’ and ‘Tanashahi party ko hum chot denge’ with the clip showing aggressive mob clashing with the police shows slanderous remarks and is a criticism of the ruling party on the basis of unverified facts.
MUST WATCH🔥👇
AAP’s Campaign Song For 2024 Lok Sabha Elections Is OUT NOW 🎶🎵#AAPKaCampaignSong pic.twitter.com/8dJPAhN3wx
— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) April 25, 2024
What did EC say?
EC claimed that the song’s content, along with certain images, violates the provisions of ECI Guidelines and Rule 6 (1(g) of Programme and Advertising Codes prescribed under the Cable Television Network Rules, 1994, and ECI guidelines from August 24, 2023, for certification.
Further, various phrases of the song cast aspersions on the judiciary and the police. It put the Directors of CBI and ED in a bad light.
It also made slanderous remarks against the ruling party.
Hence, the EC has ordered the party to resubmit the poll song for certification after making the required changes.
What is the wrong content in the song?
AAP’s response
APP’s senior leader Atishi claimed that such a “ban” by the EC was a political action hurled by the BJP. This is the first instance of the Election Commission banning a party’s campaign song.
She further insisted that the campaign song did not breach the Model Code of Conduct. It merely sheds light on perceived injustices without explicitly naming the ruling party.
She added that she urged the Election Commission to focus on BJP’s alleged violations of the Model Code of Conduct instead of impeding the opposition’s election campaign.
The AAP leader, Kejriwal, and other party ministers have been arrested in relation to the now-resolved Delhi excise policy case. Kejriwal is the first sitting Chief Minister to have been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
