AL, BNP gear up for polls

Several mayoral aspirants from both Awami League and BNP have been vying for securing party tickets to run in the Gazipur City Corporation (GCC) election to be held on May 15.

Some of them have already campaigned and sought “blessings” from voters in different areas, locals said.

Sources in the local AL said at least five party leaders are being considered for the party ticket.

They are: Gazipur city AL President Azmat Ullah Khan, Gazipur city AL Vice-President and former acting city mayor Asadur Rahman Kiron, Gazipur city AL General Secretary Jahangir Alam, city Jubo League Convener Kamrul Ahsan Sarkar Russell and its Joint Convener Saiful Islam.

On the other hand, the names of two BNP leaders are doing the rounds as the possible party candidate. They are: Gazipur Mayor MA Mannan and BNP central leader and former lawmaker Hasan Uddin Sarkar.

Chief Election Commissioner KM Nurul Huda announced the election schedule at a press conference at Nirbachan Bhaban in the capital on Saturday. The deadline for submission of nomination papers is April 12.

Election officials will scrutinise the documents on April 15-16, while candidates can withdraw their candidacy till April 23. GCC has 57 general wards and 19 reserved wards with around 11.64 lakh voters.

Azmat Ullah Khan, who was defeated by MA Mannan by a margin of over one lakh votes in 2013, said BNP won that election because of some “faults and feud inside local AL back then”. “We have overcome those shortcomings in the last five years. The BNP mayor also could not meet the peoples' expectations,” he said.

Another AL mayoral aspirant Jahangir Alam said his activities and dedication to the people of Gazipur proved his capability for the post. He hoped the party chief, leaders, supporters, and people of Gazipur would help him win.

Meanwhile, BNP grassroots leaders said they would work for whoever the party selected as a candidate for the election, as they had no alternative but to remain united since the party was no longer in power.

Sazedur Rahman, a Jubo Dal activist and known as a supporter of Mannan, said Mannan had been behind bars for about two years and also faced cases “unjustifiably”. “It will help him gain the sympathy of many voters.” Gazipur city BNP member Babul Sarkar said Hasan Uddin Sarkar is a competent mayor candidate.

Meanwhile, three mayoral forms, 133 forms for councillors of general wards and 33 forms for reserved wards were collected from the Returning Officer's office in the last two days.

Gazipur city Jamaat Amir SM Sanaullah collected a mayoral form as an “independent candidate” yesterday, said sources at the office.