Upcoming CCC Polls: AL publishes ad with names of its candidates
Failing to make rebel candidates step down from the Chattogram City Corporation elections despite repeated attempts, the port city Awami League has published an advertisement with the names of its nominated candidates.
Senior AL leaders told this newspaper that the advertisement was published to clear confusion among the voters.
Mentioning the names of those nominated by the party to contest the election for 41 ward councillors and 14 reserved seats for the women ward councillors, the advertisement was taken out on the first page of Daily Azadi, a local newspaper, on January 18.
On behalf of the CCC Election Operation Committee-2021, AL presidium member Engineer Mosharraf Hossain and Chattogram metropolitan AL General Secretary AJM Nasir Uddin jointly published the ad.
Mosharraf is the chief coordinator and also the chairman of the committee while AJM Nasir is the member-secretary.
Anxious of the prospect of losing the mayoral race due to divisions among the party ranks, the AL high command is working in unison for the party-supported candidates in the local body polls, party sources said.
However, insiders and grassroots leaders said the advertisement only exposes the severity of the intra-party feud.
Speaking to The Daily Star, Mosharraf Hossain said, "We've published the advertisement to clear the confusion several councillor candidates have created among the voters."
"If they [the rebel candidates] obey the party and its high command, then they should quit the electoral race. The party has given its order in this regard. Why have they violated it? If they really adhere to the party's ideology, they must refrain from the election," said the veteran politician and also a former minister.
He said, "Those who said we did not evaluate them are absolutely wrong. During the nomination processes, they [rebels] signed a paper and submitted it to the party office, saying they will accept the party decision -- no matter what it is."
The ad mentioned, "In the CCC election, scheduled to be held on 27 January, cast your vote in favour of [candidates who are] AL nominated and also for Ctg metropolitan unit's Joint General Secretary freedom fighter M Rezaul Karim Chowdhury, with the 'boat' symbol, to continue the ongoing development of Chattogram. With that, try [your] best to win the 41 ward councillors and the 14 reserved seats for women ward councillors to continue your area-based progress. We have no other party-backed candidates apart from those."
Asked whether the advertisement can ease the ongoing intra-party tension, Mosharraf said, "We are trying to resolve the issue. It's unjust of them to disobey party commands. Those who will contest the polls without party tickets will no longer be with the party."
Sources said former councillors of 13 wards failed to get party nominations for the election. Of them, 12 are contesting the election independently. Only in ward-13, former ward commissioner Mohammed Hossen Hiran withdrew his candidacy.
A field-level intelligence report by the police recently also revealed that AL rebel candidates are trying to get support from BNP-Jamaat to win the electoral race.
In the report, it was also apprehended that a violent clash might take place among rebel candidates before the polls as well as on election day.
This newspaper has a copy of the report, which details the current political unrest between two blocks of Chattogram AL.
The report stated that the 12 rebel candidates for ward councillor are followers of Chattogram city AL's General Secretary AJM Nasir Uddin, adding that the immediate-past mayor of CCC AJM Nasir has been doing his best to make his followers win -- going against mayoral candidate Rezaul.
The report also said that AL-nominated candidates and rebel candidates will be desperate to collect votes for themselves on polling day, leaving AL mayoral candidate Rezaul Karim Chowdhury alone in the election battle.
Admitting that the party is facing problems due to rebels in the elections, AL Joint General Secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif earlier told The Daily Star that the party's vote bank and voters are divided in elections due to this.
Around 200 candidates will contest under 41 general wards and 14 reserved wards. The lone candidate of East Bakalia ward-14 has already won the election uncontested.
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