The death toll in election-related violence in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal has risen to 18.
Widespread violence broke out during voting for village council members, local media reported.
Booth capturing and vandalism were reported in several districts of the state.
Ten members of the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) were killed, three each from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress, and two from the Communist Party of India (Marxist), ANI news agency reports.
The opposition and the governing parties have blamed each other for the deaths.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has called for imposing President’s Rule in the state, referring to the suspension of a state government and the imposition of direct rule of the central government.
Calls for fresh polls
It has also demanded fresh elections in several places.
Polling for the 73,887 seats took place on Saturday, with nearly 57 million voters deciding the fate of over 200,000 candidates. The counting will take place on July 11.
West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose visited many areas in the district of North 24 Parganas and met with injured victims, according to the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency.
Meanwhile, Bengal State Election Commissioner Rajiva Sinha said that a panel would look into complaints of vote tampering and violence.
The decision about fresh voting would be taken after receiving reports from observers and returning officers.
