Halting campaigning in Bengal 19 hours early: Is the EC move acceptable

West Bengal is in limelight after 70 years. For the first time in the seven-decade old election history of India, the state has assumed significant importance in Lok Sabha elections 2019.

In an unprecedented decision, the Election Commission on April 15 curtailed campaigning in Bengal for sixth phase by 19 hours. The campaigning for the final round of the Lok Sabha polls on Sunday will now halt in West Bengal at 10 pm on Thursday.

Normally, campaigning would have continued up to Friday 5pm, that is, till 48 hours before the end of polling.

However, the EC decision follows the violence between BJP and TMC workers in Kolkata during BJP President Amit Shah's road show. The two parties have traded charges of inciting the violence during BJP president during the road show. The Election Commission invoked Article 324 of the Constitution to curtail the campaigning for the last phase of the election on May 19. Many wondered why the campaign curfew did not kick in from Wednesday night itself if the law and order situation was so bad. Taking a note on this, is the EC move acceptable?