At least 17 persons were injured, some of them seriously, in armed clashes between Congress and BJP workers at Harrai and Chhindi villages in Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara Lok Sabha constituency early on Tuesday morning, police said.
Trouble started when over a dozen unidentified persons stormed some villages, 65 km from Chhindwara, and opened fire in the air, leading to clashes in which swords, knives and lathis were used, they said.
Police said 13 Congress workers and two BJP activists were admitted to the district hospital with serious injuries while the remaining were discharged after first aid.
As tension mounted in the area, additional police forces have been deployed in the affected villages to control the situation, they said.
Meanwhile, Congress candidate from Chhindwara Kamal Nath and his main electoral rival and Union Minister Prahlad Patel of BJP visited the affected areas and the hospital levelling charges against each other.
Superintendent of Police D Srinivas Rao said an FIR has been registered on the basis of complaints filed by members of both the political parties.