Campaign for Abbas starts
BNP-backed mayoral candidate Mirza Abbas' wife Afroza Abbas yesterday started polls campaign on his behalf in Dhaka South City Corporation, a day after electoral campaign formally began on Tuesday.
It has been more than three months since Abbas avoided public appearance as he is facing 60 cases on different charges.
“Pray for my husband so that he can appear before you on getting bail,” Afroza was quoted as telling city dwellers whom she met in different areas of the DSCC.
Abbas, who has been declared fugitive in a corruption case, will file petitions anytime soon seeking his bail from the High Court through his lawyers, Jahangir Alam Mintu, personal secretary of the mayoral hopeful, told The Daily Star last night.
BNP-backed mayoral candidate's campaign in Dhaka North City Corporation, however, has yet to begin as the party heavyweight Abdul Awal Mintoo appealed to the Supreme Court, challenging the High Court order that upheld the cancellation of his nomination.
The full bench of the SC is scheduled to hear Mintoo's appeal today. During the hearing, Mintoo will seek the Appellate Division's directives upon the Election Commission to accept his nomination.
On Monday, the HC summarily dismissed his writ petition challenging the Dhaka divisional commissioner's order that rejected his nomination due to a procedural flaw.
If Mintoo's appeal is rejected today, the BNP will have no other option than backing either Mintoo's elder son Tabith Awal or Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh leader Mahi B Chowdhury in the mayoral race.
Khaleda Zia has already instructed Tabith to get prepared for the polls while a number of BNP high-ups are in favour of backing Mahi, son of former president AQM Badruddoza Chowdhury, one of the founding members of the party, who was relieved of his party post in 2001, according to BNP insiders.
Mahi, in his first ever press conference at the Jatiya Press Club since campaign started, hoped that the BNP would back him in the DNCC mayoral race if Mintoo failed to contest the election.
Mahi, joint general secretary of Bikalpa Dhara, said he would turn the capital into a safe, bright and dynamic city if he got elected.
He also vowed to introduce an "aesthetic" form of politics in place of the existing "politics of muscle power, confrontation and bloodbath."
After the briefing he launched his campaign from the capital's Korail slum at Mohakhali and later visited Banani and Gulshan-2 municipality market to woo voters.
ANNISUL & KHOKON'S CAMPAIGN
On the second day of their campaign, Annisul Huq and Sayeed Khokon, Awami League-backed mayoral hopefuls for DNCC and DSCC polls, were joined by a pro-AL citizens' platform called Dhaka Nagorik Samaj.
The platform that was launched yesterday through a press conference at the Dhaka Reporters Unity called upon the Dhaka dwellers to vote for Annisul and Khokon to build a modern Dhaka with the spirit of the Liberation War.
Versatile writer Syed Shamsul Haque and cultural personality Golam Quddus will work as convenor and member secretary of the 146-member platform.
Annisul yesterday started his campaign from the city's Darus Salam area around 11:00am and visited different areas including Kalyanpur, Mirpur, Peerer Bagh and Bangla College.
While Khokon launched his campaign from the city's Bangsal area at 11:00am distributing a rose and a leaflet among voters. He ended his extensive campaign around 11:30pm.
NASIR vs MANJUR
In the port city the AL-backed mayoral aspirant AJM Nasir Uddin yesterday started his formal campaign through assuring voters of a permanent solution to water-logging problems in Chittagong.
Flanked by AL leaders, Nasir started his campaign after visiting the shrine of Hazarat Shah Amanat in Chittagong at 10:45am.
However, BNP-backed mayoral aspirant M Manjur Alam is yet to start his formal campaign as he was busy on the second day holding meetings with the party's grass-root leaders and activists on election strategy at his residence.
AFROZA ABBAS
Flanked by local BNP and Mahila Dal activists, Afroza Abbas yesterday visited different lanes of Khilgaon, Tilpapara, Basabo and Khilgaon. Distributing leaflets among voters, she sought votes for her husband.
About her husband avoiding public appearance, she told reporters that her husband would appear in public and carry out his campaign in person once he got bail from the court as he was accused in many cases.
She hoped that Abbas would get bail soon and join the electioneering.
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