India’s election commission curtails campaign in West Bengal after violence

India’s Election Commission has curtailed election campaigning by a day in the state of West Bengal after several clashes ahead of Sunday’s polls.

In an order on Thursday, the three-member body cited “growing incidents of disruption and violence” that were creating a “fear psychosis” among voters as reason for cutting the campaign short.

Nine parliamentary constituencies vote on Sunday in the seventh and last round of India’s weeks-long elections.

On Tuesday, rival political supporters fought with sticks and rocks during a rally for India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, which is trying to wrest seats from Trinamool Congress, a powerful regional party that currently governs West Bengal, AP said.