Amid surging threats of violence during the last phase of polls in West Bengal, the Election Commission on Wednesday took the unprecedented step of cutting short the electioneering for nine Lok Sabha constituencies, scheduled to go to polls on Sunday, by a day.
The “silence period”, during which no party or candidate can hold public meetings or display any election matter via electronic media, will now kick in from 10 pm on Thursday, instead of Friday, in the nine constituencies. Invoking the power it enjoys under Article 324 of the Constitution, the EC cited “an atmosphere of fear and hatred” and “widely prevalent fear psychosis” in “polling areas” to explain its decision. It also ordered the removal of ADG (CID) in West Bengal police Rajeev Kumar, considered to be close to CM Mamata Banerjee, who had earlier sat on a dharna against the CBI’s decision to question him in the Saradha scam case.

Amid surging threats of violence during the last phase of polls in West Bengal, the Election Commission on Wednesday took the unprecedented step of cutting short the electioneering for nine Lok Sabha constituencies, scheduled to go to polls on Sunday, by a day.
The “silence period”, during which no party or candidate can hold public meetings or display any election matter via electronic media, will now kick in from 10 pm on Thursday, instead of Friday, in the nine constituencies. Invoking the power it enjoys under Article 324 of the Constitution, the EC cited “an atmosphere of fear and hatred” and “widely prevalent fear psychosis” in “polling areas” to explain its decision. It also ordered the removal of ADG (CID) in West Bengal police Rajeev Kumar, considered to be close to CM Mamata Banerjee, who had earlier sat on a dharna against the CBI’s decision to question him in the Saradha scam case.