Congress and BJP leaders accused Trinamul’s Malda leadership of “manipulation” on Thursday, as voters of six of the 12 Assembly seats of the district exercised their franchise in the eighth and final phase of Bengal polls.

Political observers, however, saw in these charges a hint that poll results in these six seats — where Trinamul performed miserably in 2016 — could be different this time.

Isha Khan Choudhury, the sitting MLA and Congress candidate of Sujapur seat, accused Trinamul of “trying to manipulate polling in all possible ways”.

In the past five decades, only the Congress won from Sujapur. Isha’s reaction prompted political observers to wonder if the Congress leader was rattled. “In earlier elections, we never saw such a reaction from the Congress. Party leaders may have sensed a change (in Trinamul’s favour) which is why they appear rattled,” said Najibar Rehman, a political observer.

BJP accused Trinamul of “violence” and “scare tactics”. “They attacked our polling agent, and in many places, didn’t allow our agents at booths or scared (our) voters with threats,” said Swadhin Sarkar, the BJP MLA of Baishnabnagar, contesting from the same seat.

In Malda, the BJP has played the polarisation card to consolidate support and focussed in five of the 12 seats of the district, among which include two seats that polled on Thursday.

A veteran in politics in Malda said that it also seemed that the Congress camp sensed that minority votes were slipping out of the party’s hands. In Malda, around 55 per cent of the population are from minority community.

“There are indications that many minority voters who always voted for the Congress are shifting to Trinamul. They believe only Mamata Banerjee can help them stay safe if the NRC and CAA are implemented in the state,” he said.

In 2016 Assembly elections, Congress had won four seats while an Independent who later joined Trinamul and a BJP candidate the remaining two. In 2019 Lok Sabha polls, there had been a swing in votes in favour of the saffron camp and the BJP had managed to secure leads in four Assembly segments while the Congress led in the remaining two segments.

“In these past two elections, Trinamul’s performance was not up to the mark. But today (Thursday), leaders of both Congress and BJP camps appeared distressed and they raised baseless charges at us. Their reaction indicates they have sensed defeat,” said Dulal Sarkar, a district Trinamul leader.