Social media sites, including Twitter and Facebook, pulled down a total of 503 posts from their platforms after the Election Commission flagged them for violating the model code of conduct (MCC) during the "silence period", the 48-hour period before the conclusion of voting.

EC Director General Dhirendra Ojha told reporters that of these, a whopping 500 posts were removed by Facebook alone. while two posts were removed by Twitter, and one by WhatsApp, after receiving complaints from the poll panel.

"Resolution of eight complaints with Facebook and 39 with Twitter is still awaited," he added.

Social media platforms had last month agreed to a voluntary code of ethics under which they had to process any request from the Election Commission to take down content within three hours during the 48-hour period before voting days.

The agreement was arrived at a meeting between the Election Commission and Internet companies for the staggered Lok Sabha elections that started on Thursday.

This is the first time that such a code is applicable on social media companies which have seen largescale political advertisements and campaigning in recent elections.