Infighting threatens AL victory
Internal strife between incumbent lawmaker and the other party leaders is harming ruling Awami League's (AL) prospect of winning the seat again in Kalihati (Tangail-4 constituency) in the upcoming parliamentary election.
In 2008 elections veteran AL leader Abdul Latif Siddique was elected as lawmaker from the constituency.
Latif, who was elected lawmaker from the constituency on four more occasions, won the January 5, 2014 polls uncontested.
Latif, however, resigned on September 1, 2015, after being removed from AL and the cabinet following allegation of his controversial comments over Hajj and Tablig Jamaat at a programme in the US in 2014.
Later, former Kalihati Upazila Parishad Chairman Hasan Imam Khan Sohel Hazari got the party nomination and was elected in the by-election on January 31, 2017 as the nomination paper of Krishak Sramik Janata League President Abdul Kader Siddique was not accepted as he was a loan defaulter, while BNP did not take part in the election.
Local influential AL leaders, however, had been opposing Sohel Hazari since he was elected lawmaker of the constituency, party insiders said.
This time, alongside Sohel Hazari, at least three veteran AL leaders, including Upazila Parishad Chairman and AL upazila unit President Mozaherul Islam Thandu, its Vice-President Engineer Liakat Ali and AL central sub-committee Assistant Secretary and FBCCI Director Abu Naser are seeking the party nomination.
Besides, former lawmaker Laila Siddque may also seek the party nomination, party insiders said.
On September 23, lawmaker Sohel Hazari held a meeting in Elenga and arranged a massive showdown with several hundred motorcycles.
Meanwhile, upazila AL held a workers' meeting in the bus stand area the same afternoon where Thandu, Liakat and AL upazila unit General Secretary and former Kalihati Municipality Mayor Ansar Ali were present.
On September 11, the party leaders held a meeting in the upazila headquarters protesting attack on several local Sramik League leaders and blamed lawmaker Sohel Hazari's men for the attack.
They also urged the party President Sheikh Hasina to give nomination to any of the party leaders except Sohel Hazari in the upcoming polls.
A number of AL leaders and activists said due to internal feud between the party leaders they fear they will lose the seat in the upcoming elections.
Perhaps BNP will nominate its previous candidate Lutfar Rahman Matin although other BNP leaders like Rabeya Siraj, wife of former minister Shajahan Siraj, engineer Abul Halim, Safi Khan and Benazir Ahmed Titu are also seeking BNP tickets, they added.
However, the candidacy of AL or BNP may see a change if either of the parties makes alliance with Kader Siddique's Krishak Sramik Janata League.
Meanwhile, Syed Mostak Ahmed Ratan, finance affairs secretary of Jatiya Party's (JP-Ershad), district unit, is seeking nomination from his party.
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