In an unprecedented move, the Election Commission on Wednesday said election campaigning in West Bengal for the nine seats that go to polls on Sunday will end nearly a day earlier. It also relieved two bureaucrats of their respective posts with immediate effect.

The EC said campaigning for the nine remaining Lok Sabha seats of West Bengal will end on 10 p.m. on Thursday instead of the scheduled end on 5pm on Friday. EC officials said it has never before invoked Article 324 of the Constitution to pass such an order.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to address two public rallies in West Bengal on Thursday in Laxmikantapur and Dumdum. Earlier in the day, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah accused the EC of "double standards" for remaining a "mute spectator" to rigging and violation of the poll code in the state.

"I want to tell the EC that it has become a mute spectator to attempts to rig polls in West Bengal. It should immediately intervene. History-sheeters...are arrested during elections across the country. In Bengal, they are released after furnishing a bond. What is this double standard from the EC? Why is it silent," he asked.

Shah said election observers in their reports have said polls in the state cannot be conducted fairly until such miscreants are arrested but the EC did not act. It raises many questions on the election watchdog's impartiality, he said.

In its order, the EC stated that it has been “brought to the notice of the Commission that there has been growing incidents of disruption and violence” during political campaigning in the state. It stated that EC officials visited Bengal on May 13 to take stock of election preparedness. It said that during the review it “clearly came out” that while much of the preparedness was on track there was “distinct resistance and non-cooperation from the district administration and district police when it comes to providing level playing field to all candidates for campaigning and in providing a fearless threat free environment to the voters.”

The order noted that EC observers pointed out that “while on the surface everything looks fine but in their frank interaction with the public the fear psychosis that is widely prevalent came out.” It said Trinamool Congress leaders have threatened voters that central forces will leave after the polls. It also alluded to a BJP delegation meeting EC officials about the situation in Bengal.

The order ends campaigning on Thursday night in the Lok Sabha seats of Dumdum, Barasat, Basirhat, Jainagar, Mathurapur, Diamond Harbour, Jadavpur, Kolkata South and Kolkata North. It has also banned sale of alcohol in areas in these Lok Sabha seats.

The EC said it was “deeply anguished” at the bust of Bengal renaissance leader Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar having been vandalized. It asked the state administration to trace the vandals at the earliest.

In another order, the EC relieved DG, CID Rajeev Kumar of his charge with immediate effect and instructed him to report to the Ministry of Home Affairs in New Delhi by 10 am on Thursday. It also relieved Principal Secretary (Home and Hill Affairs) Attri Bhattacharya of his charge for “having interference in the process of conducting of elections” through his letter to the Bengal chief electoral officer on May 13. It said West Bengal chief secretary will look after the charge of the home secretary of the state also.