KOLKATA, India — India’s Election Commission cut off campaigning early in the eastern state of West Bengal on Thursday after days of clashes in the final stretch of the country’s marathon elections, a drastic and unprecedented action in the world’s largest democracy. The commission is invoking for the first time Article 324 of the Indian Constitution, which gives it powers over India’s Parliament and state lawmakers to conduct free and fair elections. “But it may not be the last in cases of repetition of lawlessness and violence,” Chandra Bhushan Kumar, a deputy election commissioner, told reporters Wednesday. Violence was also reported in the state during last Sunday’s polls. Shortly after 6 p.m., she led her final procession of the election campaign.

Source: Washington Post May 16, 2019 10:07 UTC