Calcutta, March 20: Party and trade union offices located within 200 metres of polling booths will have to be shut down after campaigning ends.

Booths will, however, be relocated if they are within 200 metres of the parties’ district headquarters, the Election Commission has said in a directive that reached the city today.

Campaigning ends 48 hours before the start of polls. The booths shut down can be opened only after polling ends.

The full bench of the commission ? comprising chief B.B. Tandon and election commissioners N. Gopalaswamy and Navin Chawla ? is going to arrive here tomorrow.

The trio will meet representatives of political parties tomorrow morning and the district magistrates, district election officers of Calcutta, superintendents of police and deputy commissioners of the city in the afternoon.

On Wednesday, the commission will assess the state’s poll preparedness in talks with chief secretary Amit Kiran Deb, home secretary Prasad Ranjan Roy, director-general of police S.C. Avasthy and city police commissioner Prasun Mukherjee.

Law and order, deployment of paramilitary forces, execution of non-bailable warrants and sundry steps to ensure smooth polls in the Maoist-infested districts would figure on the agenda.

Chief electoral officer Debasish Sen said the district magistrates and superintendents of police have been informed about today’s directive.

According to the state election authorities, 3,350 polling booths across Bengal are within 200 metres of party offices.

Sen said: “Necessary orders have been sent for the relocation of booths.”

All nine recognised political parties in the state will have to abide by today’s directive on closing down party offices after campaigning. At tomorrow’s meeting, sources said, some of the parties might raise the issue.

The CPM had earlier objected to the relocation of booths saying it would inconvenience voters. The party had also appealed to the poll panel to allow its state headquarters to function on the day of elections.

The chief electoral officer had earlier held a meeting with all political parties to seek their views on relocation of offices within 200 metres of polling booths. A district-level meeting was also held and a list of such offices drawn up.

Sources said the CPM would be the hardest hit by the poll panel directive as it has more local and zonal committee offices than any other party.