Noting that the move may tilt the polls in favour of the ruling party, the leader of the Opposition and Trinamool legislator Partha Chatterjee said, “They have reorganised the seats in a way so that the marginal seats become sure wins for the CPM.”

Earlier, a polling booth or a seat was constituted for every 700 voters but the new norm has raised the bar to 900 voters, which means 200 voters can be relocated to the advantage of the ruling party. “In many seats, the margin is less than 200 votes. You can assess how things could be manipulated,” said Chatterjee.

Earlier, the state panchayat department minister had hurriedly placed a bill and got it passed in the last session of the Assembly that empowered his department to reorganise the panchayat seats.

As a result, the number of Gram Panchayat seats, the lowest tier in the panchayati raj institutions, has reduced by more than 7000. In the 2003 elections, the number of Gram Panchayat seats was 49,144 but after the reorganisation the number stood at 41,753 seats. This despite an increase of more than 23 lakh in the total number of rural voters.

Expressing his doubt at the reorganisation legislation, Chatterjee said,” I am not sure if the enactment has been carried out or the Governor has given his consent.”