Bogura district Swechchasebak League President Sajedur Rahman Shaheen has said voters who would not cast their ballots for the Awami league mayoral candidate in the Gabtali municipality polls need not go to polling centres.

Sajedur, also the chairman of Kharna Union Parishad under Bogura's Shajahanpur upazila, was addressing a meeting at Darail Bazar on Saturday evening, marking the opening of an election campaign centre of AL mayoral nominee Mominul Haque Shilu.

The Daily Star has obtained a 2:14-minute video footage of his speech.

Speaking at the event as chief guest, Sajedur instructed the party men to bring leaders and activists of each Awami League unit and assign polling stations to them on the polling day (January 30). "Select one of them as a commander. The commander will be in command," he added.

The UP chairman said, "Do we have time to be beaten up? It's time to beat up."

He said the AL has fielded a mayoral candidate and the party will take over the post. "We have to elect the mayor in the same way we did while electing our Gabtali upazila parishad chairman."

Contacted, Sajedur admitted that he addressed the meeting. "I delivered the speech to motivate our leaders and activists to run the polls campaign," he told The Daily Star.

Returning Officer of Gabtali municipality election Rawnak Jahan, also the Gabtali upazila nirbahi officer, said he got the video footage yesterday afternoon.

"The Swechchasebak League leader violated the code of conduct of the municipality election by making such statements. A show cause notice will be sent to him tomorrow [today] asking him to explain why action will not be taken against him," the returning officer said.

Meanwhile, BNP mayoral candidate Saiful Islam yesterday said the Swechchasebak League leader has actually "announced the election result before it is held" by ordering local party men to bar voters from casting ballots for other candidates.

"We think Awami League doesn't believe in democracy. The party does not allow people to exercise their voting rights," said Saiful, also the immediate past mayor of Gabtali municipality.

Five candidates, including the BNP and AL nominees, are contesting the mayoral election.