NEW DELHI, India (AP) -- Locally brewed liquor apparently tainted with lethal chemicals killed at least 59 people in southern India over the weekend, police said Monday.

Bootleggers began selling the deadly brew on Saturday after police shut authorized liquor shops in parts of the Karnataka state because of voting for the state government, said Sri Kumar, the state police chief.

In India, liquor stores and bars are routinely closed during elections to prevent politicians from handing out free alcohol in a bid to win votes.

Since Saturday, 59 people, most of them poor laborers, have died and 17 others were in hospital, said Kumar