Four from AL may seek nomination

With the announcement of the schedule for Chittagong-12 by-election slated for January 17, there is widespread speculation among the people of Anwara and Paschim Patiya as to who are to vie for the parliamentary seat.
The names of at least four persons within the ruling Awami League (AL) have come up, who are likely to seek party nomination. AL insiders said the prospective candidates already started to lobby with the party high command.
The Chittagong-12 constituency (Anwara-Paschim Patiya) fell vacant after AL lawmaker Akhtaruzzaman Chowdhury Babu died on November 4.
Akhtaruzzaman's eldest son Saifuzzaman Chowdhury Javed is one among the four prospective candidates. Credible sources inside the AL said Javed was most likely to win nomination.
Javed, who was a former president of Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI), told The Daily Star that AL President Sheikh Hasina, also the prime minister, asked him to get ready for the by-election.
“We are still recovering from the loss of my father, but as the people of the area want me to vie in the election, I am getting ready for it,” he said.
Wasika Kaiser, daughter of late AL presidium member Ataur Rahman Khan Kaiser, is another election aspirant alongside Chittagong district (south) unit AL Joint Secretary Abul Kalam Chowdhury and former Chhatra League leader Shahajada Mohiuddin.
Abul Kalam Chowdhury said he was confident about winning party nomination as he was the most senior leader of Anwara after late Akhtaruzzaman.
“If the nomination is given in consideration of political career and contribution, I am the most eligible candidate,” he told The Daily Star. “I have been holding the post of either general secretary or president of the upazila AL for 17 years.”
Asked about Javed's getting "green signal" from the party high-ups, Kalam said the high command had not yet given their consent to any candidate.
“I have talked to the party high command and have got positive response from them.” The parliamentary board will decide who will be nominated, he said.
General Secretary of Chittagong district (south) unit AL Moslem Uddin Ahmed, however, said the people of the constituency wanted a family member of late Akhtaruzzaman to be nominated.
Javed and Kalam apart, former Chhatra League leader Shahajada Mohiuddin and Wasika Kaiser are also trying to get party blessings.
Shahajada Mohiuddin said he was interested to vie in this election. “I have not yet got any clear idea from the party high command about who is to be nominated. If the party nominates me, I am ready to contest in this poll,” he said.
Wasika Kaiser, who is a banker, said she was interested to run in this by-election and that she would seek nomination from the party.
Meanwhile, the main opposition BNP is yet to decide whether it will take part in this by-election. Party sources said BNP had a central decision not to take part in any election under the present election commission.
Moreover, the party is now in a movement demanding restoration of the caretaker government system. There is a very little chance that BNP would participate in this by-election amid the present situation, said party insiders.
BNP Vice Chairman Abdullah Al Noman told The Daily Star that although the party had not yet declared to boycott the election formally, it was almost sure that BNP was not taking part in it.
Former BNP lawmaker from the constituency Sarwar Jamal Nizam said if the party decided to take part in the election, he was mentally prepared to run the race.
Nizam was defeated in the 2008 national election.
According to the election schedule announced on Sunday, the last dates for submission and withdrawal of nomination papers are December 20 and December 31 respectively.