BNP thinks govt keeps 47 Jamaat men in mayoral race

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party thinks that the government is trying to keep 47 leaders of BNP-led alliance partner Jamaat-e-Islami in mayoral race against BNP candidates in the first-ever partisan elections to 234 municipal councils.
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party thinks that the government is trying to use BNP-led alliance partner Jamaat-e-Islami against BNP candidates in the first-ever partisan elections to 234 municipal councils as 47 Jamaat leaders are contesting the polls as independent mayoral candidates.
A meeting of the BNP standing committee, held with party chairperson Khalea Zia in the chair at her Gushan office on Thursday night, was told that the 47 Jamaat men were contesting the polls despite being requested by local BNP leaders to withdraw their candidature, meeting sources said.
Jamaat fielded the 47 leaders as independent mayoral candidates as it was not allowed to contest the municipal polls scheduled for December 30 following a High Court order that declared illegal its registration with the Election Commission in 2013.
BNP vice-chairman Abdullah Al Noman told New Age on Friday that BNP took no initiative for negotiation with Jamaat for the municipal polls as Jamaat showed no interest.
BNP leaders said that divisional organising secretaries and district committees of the party were asked to talk to local Jamaat leaders and their candidates, where BNP candidates had a good chance, to convince them to withdraw the candidature, but failed.
The Thursday’s meeting discussed that the government were trying to keep the Jamaat men in the race as that might help Awami League candidate’s to win the polls, a standing committee member said,
The meeting was told that law enforcers did not obstruct Jamaat men, who had been in hiding for the last three to four years, while they carried out electioneering at Paikgacha in Khulna, a BNP leader said.
A BNP leader said that central Jamaat leaders were urging BNP central leaders to communicate with its field-level leaders on election negotiation, while local Jamaat leaders were saying that the central leaders would make the decision.

- See more at: http://newagebd.net/183788/bnp-thinks-govt-keeps-47-jamaat-men-in-mayoral-race/#sthash.mcbKYzqt.dpuf