Seshan began filming election events to curb inflammatory campaign speeches and publicising violations of MCC. While in some instances it shamed politicians, this seems to have had little impact in recent times. Part of the problem, as noted by historian David Gilmartin, was that MCC unsuccessfully tried to tame the unruliness and ugliness of Indian politics. There is also the thorny issue of suppressing free speech. The ongoing election campaign is testimony to the inefficacy of the EC in tackling violations of MCC. Before Adityanath's remarks on Ali and Bajrangbali, which provoked the 72-hour ban, he had referred to the Indian army as "Modi's sena". Though EC showcaused Adityanath, it let him off with a warning. That did not deter Adityanath from continuing to give speeches with communal overtones. Whether the short ban on campaigning is a deterrent for Adityanath or the likes of Samajwadi Party's Azam Khan, who are both serial offenders, remains to be seen. Besides the MCC lacking legal teeth, Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself has been regularly testing the model code and setting a poor example. While alluding to Rahul Gandhi's decision to contest from Wayanad, which has a high Muslim population, Modi said the Hindu community should now be aware that Rahul was contesting from a seat "where the minority is majority". At another rally, Modi exhorted young voters to dedicate their vote to those who carried out the Balakot airstrike, despite the EC directive to not drag the armed forces into the election campaign. Modi's divisive campaign style has encouraged the opposition, in turn, to personally target him. EC did well to ban Adityanath and Mayawati for a few days, but that should not make us overlook the infirmities of MCC in relation to campaign speeches. It is perhaps time to rethink the utility of MCC, at least with regard to campaign speeches. Just as the spirit of cricket cannot curb sledging, so also MCC has proved to be ineffective in checking the coarsening of election campaigns.