Election SMS Examples and Approval Requirements
The final text, encoding and substituted variables determine the number of SMS credits. Examples are illustrative and are not evidence of approval for live use.
Before You Use These
Illustrative Examples, Not Approved Templates
Every template below uses placeholder fields like [Candidate Name]
and [Constituency] instead of real names, and carries no party branding. They are
illustrations of structure and length, not approved messages.
No. Examples are illustrative and are not evidence of approval for live use. The sending entity registers its own exact wording as a DLT content template, obtains any required MCMC pre-certification, and checks the final text — with real values substituted — for encoding and length, because the final text, encoding and substituted variables determine the number of SMS credits.
Templates
7 Illustrative Election SMS Examples
Rally Invite
Event Thank-You
Polling-Date Information
Volunteer Call-to-Action
Event Update
Candidate Announcement
Manifesto Launch
Encoding and Billing
How the Final Text Decides the Credit Count
GSM-7 vs Unicode
Plain English letters, digits and common punctuation use GSM-7: 160 characters fit in one segment, and longer messages are split at 153 characters per segment. Any character outside GSM-7 — Hindi or other Indian scripts, an em dash (—), curly quotes, or an emoji — switches the whole message to Unicode: 70 characters in one segment, 67 per segment when longer. Each segment uses one SMS credit.
Worked Example
The rally example above has 92 characters of fixed text. If the candidate name, venue, constituency, date, time and office name add 60 characters, the total is 152 — one credit in GSM-7. A Hindi version of similar length is Unicode and needs three credits (about 152 characters at 67 per segment). Replacing the hyphen with an em dash would also make the English version Unicode, again three credits.
Validate the Final Text
Check the longest realistic value for each variable, then count the final text in the platform before sending. See SMS pricing for the rate per credit and the SMS API documentation for the encoding parameter.
Compliance Notes
What Applies Before Any Similar Message Is Sent
These statements describe the general requirements; confirm current details with the DLT platform operator and the relevant MCMC for the specific message.
MCMC/ECI Pre-Certification — A Separate Requirement
Election-period bulk SMS content, including messages adapted from these templates, may require pre-certification by the Media Certification and Monitoring Committee (MCMC) before release — a requirement from the Election Commission of India that is separate from, and in addition to, DLT template approval. See our Election Communication Compliance Guide for the separate checks by channel.
DLT Content-Template Requirements
The sending entity registers its exact wording as a content template under its registered Principal Entity and header. Messages that do not match a registered template are not delivered; a wording change needs a new or updated registration.
Fixed Text vs Variable Fields
DLT template approval distinguishes between fixed text — wording that stays the same on every
send — and variable fields, the portions that change per recipient or per send (shown here as
bracketed placeholders like [Candidate Name] and [Constituency] for
readability). Only the variable portions can differ between individual messages; the fixed
wording must match the approved template exactly.
Placeholder Fields in These Samples
Fields such as [Candidate Name], [Constituency], [Venue],
and [Date] stand in for real campaign details and are illustrative only. A real
campaign replaces every placeholder with its own exact wording, and it's that real wording —
not this generic version — that is registered and, where required, pre-certified.
Silence-Period Restriction
The silence period covers the 48 hours ending with the hour fixed for the conclusion of poll (Representation of the People Act, 1951, s.126; ECI instructions). Check the applicable election instructions before scheduling any message near polling.
Template Category Follows the Actual Purpose
The examples above are promotional, voter-facing messages, subject to DND preferences, the silence period and any MCMC pre-certification. Messages to a campaign's own team have a different purpose, but their DLT category and timing still depend on the actual content and the applicable rules — they are not automatically permitted. These examples are not a model for internal team communication.
Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
No. They are illustrative and are not evidence of approval for live use. The sending entity registers its own exact wording as a DLT content template and obtains any required MCMC pre-certification before sending.
In GSM-7 (plain English), 160 characters fit in one segment and longer messages are split at 153 characters per segment. In Unicode (Indian scripts, em dashes, curly quotes, emoji), 70 characters fit in one segment and 67 per segment when longer. Each segment uses one SMS credit.
The final text, encoding and substituted variables determine the number of SMS credits. A long name or venue can push a message past a segment boundary, and one non-GSM-7 character switches the whole message to Unicode.
No. DLT content-template registration is the telecom check. Election advertisement content may also need MCMC pre-certification, and the silence period restricts timing. They are separate checks.
