Election Commission: Legality of Pre-Poll Payments and Promises

The Bihar Cabinet approved a scheme on August 29, 2025 and by October 3, about one crore women had received ₹10,000 each in their bank accounts. The Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the poll schedule on October 6 and transfers continued even after that date. In August 2026, the Uttar Pradesh government was reported to be considering a ₹50,000 transfer to women, with part of it paid before the 2027 Assembly elections and the rest after. The scheme has not been finalised.The pattern is not confined to one party. Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Bihar ran such schemes before their elections under Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) or NDA governments. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi and the Congress in Himachal Pradesh announced monthly payments to women ahead of polls. Any honest discussion has to start from that spread, because the problem lies in the statute, not in any one manifesto.What Section 170 actually saysSection 170 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 defines bribery at elections. It covers anyone who "gives a gratification to any person with the object of inducing him or any other person to exercise any electoral right", and anyone who accepts one. Then comes the proviso: "Provided that a declaration of public policy or a promise of public action shall not be an offence under this section."Parliament carried this text over word for word from Section 171B of the Indian Penal Code when it enacted the BNS in 2023. The replacement of the colonial code was