BNP to bank on young candidates
Keeping in mind the party’s future leadership, the BNP wants to bank on young faces for the Dhaka north and south city elections scheduled to be held on January 30.
BNP leaders have been saying for a long time that young leadership will emerge and take the party’s helm.
Party leaders, however, are sceptical about the voting atmosphere and allege that free and fair election is not possible under the Awami League government.
The party has been participating in different elections as part of its strategy to expose how far the situation is from what can be called free and fair, BNP leaders said.
The BNP also wants to prove that the electronic voting machines (EVM) are “faulty”.
The party has already given the go-ahead to Tabith Awal to run for Dhaka north and Ishraq Hossain for Dhaka south city corporations.
Top leaders said the candidates are young, well-educated, energetic, and have clean image that would attract young voters.
“We are focusing on the candidates who are acceptable to all and loyal to the party,” BNP standing committee member Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury told The Daily Star yesterday.
Tabith and Ishraq will be officially endorsed soon, a senior leader said.
“The party has been talking about changes in leadership for a long time. These two nominations will be the beginning of it,” he said.
The BNP started selling nomination forms yesterday and will continue until this evening. It would make the official endorsement after interviewing the hopefuls tomorrow.
Tabith and Ishraq collected the forms from the party’s Nayapaltan headquarters yesterday.
“The party has decided to participate in the election as part of our greater struggle of restoring democracy in the country and to release BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia from jail. If the party nominates me, I will try to reach out to the people and send our message to them,” said Ishraq, who has a post-graduate degree from University of Hertfordshire.
Son of former mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka, Ishraq was born in 1987. If nominated, this would be his first time running for mayor.
On the other hand, Tabith, son of BNP leader Abdul Awal Mintoo, ran for mayor the last time but the BNP boycotted the election halfway through the polling day, making allegations of widespread vote rigging and ballot stuffing. Born in 1979, he has a post graduate degree from George Washington University.
“There are two reasons [for me to run]. The moral cause for participating in the election is to make the city liveable. And secondly, from a political perspective, it is an opportunity to unite the people of the city for the greater cause of ensuring people’s rights and restoring democracy,” Tabith said.
After it boycotted the January 5, 2014 general election, the BNP participated in Dhaka city polls in 2015
The BNP joined the general election in December last year but rejected the results, alleging vote rigging. The party shunned the by-election at Dhaka North City Corporation in March this year.
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has already expressed doubts over fair polls, saying free and fair election was not possible under this government.
Fakhrul also alleged that the use of EVMs would not help reflect the mandate of the electorate.
With the Awami League in power, it is impossible for the current election commission to hold a free and fair election, he said. “Despite this, we are contesting in the elections because we believe in democracy.”
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