Chief Election Commissioner VS Sampath
Paid news, or promotional content masquerading as news, was the biggest challenge in the Maharashtra and Haryana elections, Chief Election Commissioner VS Sampath has told NDTV.
"One which is really a challenge is paid news in both the states... when we had visited the states also half the parties were complaining about paid news, next thing as the elections were progressing we found use of money power and liquor," he said.
"The increasing role of something like money power in election continues to be a cause of concern," Mr Sampath added.
Results of last week's election in the two Congress-ruled states will be announced today. Exit polls predict that the BJP will emerge as the single largest party in both states.
Reports suggest some Rs. 212 million in cash and liquor worth Rs. 130 million were seized before the polls.
The Election Commission posted officials to monitor and identify paid news. Mr Sampath said paid news "which takes place in a very covert manner will never come to light."
The Congress had complained to the Election Commission about multiple reruns of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech in New York's Madison Square Garden during his US tour last month. The party had claimed that some channels did not run the advertorial sign through the speech, which can be construed as "paid news".
Election rules allow ad spots if the channel makes it clear that it is promotional. TV channels that telecast PM Modi's speech said they ran a disclaimer and also indicated that it was an "advertisement".