When political parties draft their election manifestos in the coming weeks, they won't be able to woo voters through mere promises, even if some of them are seen as populist or unrealistic, like they have in the past.

Days before announcing the schedule for the Lok Sabha polls, the Election Commission has included fresh guidelines in the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) that say manifestos will not just have to "reflect the rationale' for a promise but will also have to "broadly indicate the ways and means to meet the financial requirements for it'. Read