AL, BNP weighing fears, weaknesses
With the deadline for campaigns expiring tomorrow, both Awami League and BNP camps in Chittagong are weighing their fears and weaknesses in the April 28 city corporation election.
Since the unveiling of AL-blessed mayoral hopeful AJM Nasir Uddin's manifesto, the party leaders are in a state of discomfort because of Chittagong city AL President ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury expressing dissatisfaction with the charter of promises.
Such remarks in public have brought the intra-party feud to the fore and also created mistrust among the leaders and activists of Nagorik Committee, under which Nasir is vying in the city polls, said party insiders. An AL leader said Mohiuddin should not have expressed his dissatisfaction in public which would give a “wrong message” to the leaders and activists as well as the voters. “If he had any dissatisfaction, he would have discussed it in the party forum,” the leader said.
Another leader of AL said that as Mohiuddin was general secretary of Nagorik Committee, the draft of the manifesto should have been finalised with his suggestions.
Mohiuddin's expression of dissatisfaction proved that he is still “aggrieved” for his “not getting party support” for the mayoral run, he said.
However, Chittagong city AL Vice President Nayeem Uddin Chowdhury brushed aside any negative impact of the remarks. “Mohiuddin bhai is working hard for Nasir's campaign despite his illness. There is no rivalry in the party; we all are unitedly working for Nasir's win,” he said.
The BNP camp is particularly apprehensive of a free and fair election.
Ameer Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, Chittagong city president of the party, said they had information that the AL camp had “planned to occupy” the polling centres. “We neither get support from the Election Commission, nor from police,” he said.
However, he did not say how and from where he obtained the information.
“The EC has asked to submit the names of the agents of the candidates in the poling centres within April 26, which is unprecedented. Previously, we used to submit the names of agents on election day,” he said. “We fear that the agents might be harassed by police.”
Khasru said, “We are now totally dependent on the common people who are the actual owners of the state.”
Contacted, Shafiqur Rahman, assistant returning officer of the city polls, said that as they would send all electoral materials and law enforcers to the polling centres on April 27, they needed some preparations, and so they wanted the list of agents within April 26.
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