UP CHAIRMEN POLLS : Local leaders of AL, BNP lobbying for nominations [ Tritiyo Matra News ]

UP CHAIRMEN POLLS : Local leaders of AL, BNP lobbying for nominations

Local January 20, 2016

Local leaders of ruling Awami League and BNP began desperate lobbying to get their parties’ nominations to contest the coming Union Parishad polls as chairmen candidates.
The local political scenario has been warmed up by the maiden opportunity to contest as the chairmen candidates with parties nomination.
The Election Commission is taking the preparations to hold the first phase of the staggered UP elections in the last week of March.
In the first phase 600 out of 4,500 union parishads would go to polls, said EC officials.
The elections in the remaining unions would be held by June, they said.
A decision taken by AL’s local government selection board meeting chaired by prime minister Sheikh Hasina Tuesday kept local MPs out of the selection board for choosing the UP chairmen candidates.
The meeting over, AL joint general secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif told reporters that only the presidents and general secretaries of the respective districts, upazilas and union parishads would select the candidates.
He said that directives had been sent to each selection board to choose one candidate and forward his or her name to the party’s central office for approval.
He said violation of the party’s decision would lead to disciplinary action.
The BNP leaders said that that their local leaders would contest the UP polls.
They said that BNP would start its campaigns after the schedule was announced.
Interested local leaders of both BNP and AL began their ground work to project their candidature.
AL’s Tangail district chapter president Md Fazlur Rahman Faruk said that the party’s local leaders began hectic lobbying to win the party’s nomination.
Faruk said that it would be tough to select a nominee from among so many aspirants.
Munshiganj district AL general secretary Md Lutfor Rahman said that from each union up to ten local leaders approached him for nomination.
He said that if they were given the free hand, district level leaders would select the best aspirant as they knew the local leaders.
BNP leaders said that the party’s local leaders keen to contest as UP chairman began their groundwork despite several odds.
They said that the local leaders of BNP were undeterred by the controversial results produced by rigged municipal mayoral polls.
Kushtia district BNP general secretary Suhrab Uddin told New Age that they were taking the preparations to field party candidates.
BNP joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi told New Age that in the backdrop of choking of democracy, BNP was keen to contest the local polls.
On Tuesday, the EC finalised the draft electoral code of conduct for the UP elections, election commissioner Md Shah Newaz told reporters.
He said that the draft electoral code of conduct would be send to the law ministry seeking its vetting.
He said that there would be no need for aspirants to submit affidavits and Tax Identification Number certificates with their nomination papers.
The last UP elections were held in 2011.
The local government law requires the EC to hold UP elections 180 days before the expiry of the five-year tenure.