New Delhi, Nov. 16: The Election Commission has decided to monitor SMS campaigns in poll-bound Gujarat to track down mischievous or communally sensitive messages.

Chief election commissioner N. Gopalaswami today said bulk text messages by candidates and parties would be banned 48 hours before voting begins next month.

The ban has also been imposed in Himachal Pradesh, which, too, is going to polls in December.

“There will be no bulk SMS campaigns 48 hours before polling,” Gopalaswami said.

The poll panel had two meetings with mobile phone service providers, who assured the commission that they could track down any SMS within 30 minutes of being informed, Gopalaswami said.

“The innovativeness of the human mind is endless,” the poll panel chief said, adding that this was the first such exercise by the commission.