CITY POLLS ELECTIONEERING

Pro-Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led opposition backed mayoral aspirants in the two civic polls in Dhaka did not appear in public for electioneering although ruling Awami League backed aspirants crisscrossed the capital to woo the voters on the second day of electioneering on Wednesday. Although probable BNP-backed mayoral candidate for the Dhaka south city corporation Mirza Abbas’s wife Afroza Abbas launched electioneering on behalf of her husband, who is apparently in hiding fearing arrest, none of the probable BNP-backed candidates for Dhaka north city corporation carried out campaigns. Following the cancellation of the nomination BNP chairperson’s adviser Abdul Awal Mintoo by the returning officer, the BNP is apparently in disarray in picking the mayoral aspirant for the Dhaka north against AL-backed mayoral aspirant Annisul Huq. BNP insiders said party chairperson Khaleda Zia might pick either Mintoo’s son Tabith Awal or Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh joint secretary general Mahi B Chowdhury if the Appellate Division today rejects Mintoo’s plea against the cancellation of his candidature. After the rejection of an appeal by the Sonali Bank against Tabith’s candidature on Tuesday, Tabith Awal said he would launch electioneering only after seeing the fate of the appeal of his father with the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court. During the launch of his electioneering at the National Press Club on Wednesday, Mahi B Chowdhury urged Khaleda Zia to back him in the mayoral race if she faces a crisis of candidate in Dhaka north.

Talking to newsmen during electioneering for her husband, Afroza Abbas alleged the election commission could not ensure a level-playing field for all candidates as yet. ‘It is the duty of the state and the commission to make the election fair and it also needs to ensure everyone’s participation,’ she added hoping that her husband would get bail in the cases pending against him, and would join the campaign soon. Furthermore, Mirza Abbas’s media wing member Mahmud Hasan alleged a group of activists of ruling party’s student wing Bangladesh Chhatra League attacked a group of Chhatra Dal activists at Mugda area when they were returning from electioneering, leaving at least two injured. Besides, Dhaka University’s former vice chancellor Emajuddin Ahmed and several other pro-BNP intellectuals formed on Wednesday a platform called ‘Adarsha Dhaka Andolan’ ostensibly to carry out electioneering for pro-BNP candidates in the civic polls in Dhaka. On the other hand, AL backed mayoral aspirant candidates Sayeed Khokon and Annisul Huq and several other mayoral aspirants backed by Jatiya Party and some leftwing political parties crisscrossed their respective areas visiting from door to door to woo the voters. Talking to reporters on the sideline of his electioneering at the National Press Club on Wednesday, Sayeed Khokon termed the election a ‘war of the democratic, secular and pro-liberation forces against an evil force.’ ‘I will make Dhaka livable in the first one year of the mayoral tenure if the Almighty Allah allows me to get elected,’ Sayeed Khokon said. When his attention was drawn to an allegation of Afroza Abbas that he was getting privileges from the administration for being a ruling party backed candidate, he shrugged off the allegation and said rival candidates should take the matter up with the commission if they have any complaints. ‘In this election I expect unreserved cooperation from the media to win the battle,’ he added. Annisul Huq conducted electioneering in Mohammadpur and Kalyanpur areas yesterday. Communist Party of Bangladesh backed mayoral aspirant for Dhaka south Bazlur Rashid Feroze started electioneering by placing wreaths at the Central Shaheed Minar at 11:00am on Wednesday. Dhaka North mayoral aspirant Bobby Hajjaj, also a former adviser to Jatiya Party chairman HM Ershad, launched campaign by offering prayer at the Shah Ali shrine at Mirpur. It is, however, expected that the electioneering will start gathering momentum after the allocation of election symbol tomorrow (Friday), with the last date for withdrawing candidatures expiring today (Thursday).

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