Don't allow JP in Nilphamari seats, urge AL leaders

Leaders of all upazila units of Awami League (AL) have urged their party chief Sheikh Hasina not to allow Jatiya Party (JP) men to contest the upcoming Jatiya Sangsad (JS) elections as candidates of the grand alliance.
Following emergency meetings held in all upazila units of the party this week, they sent messages to their party chief to this effect. Terming JP as a decaying force, they said JP secured third position in the 2001 JS elections. If AL high command allows to contest polls then it would be suicidal for the party, they said.
In last JS elections, AL secured 2,49,159 votes while JP got only 2,03,525 in all four seats in the district.
In Nilphamari-1 (Domar and Dimla upazila) constituency, AL candidate Hamida Banu Shova was elected a lawmaker defeating her nearest rival N K Alam Chowdhury of JP. If AL sacrifices the seat to JP then NK Alam is sure to get the final nomination.
In Nilphamari-3 (Jaldhaka and part of Kishoreganj upazila) constituency, Mizanur Rahman of Jamaat won the 2001 elections. Dipendra Nath of AL secured the second place while Rashidul Alam of JP secured the third position. This time, AL nominated Jaldhaka Press Club president Golam Mostafa while JP nominated Kazi Faruque Kader, son of the then central minister of Pakistan, Kazi Abdul Kader, a leading collaborator of the occupation Pakistan army during the liberation war of Bangladesh in 1971. AL leaders and freedom fighters urged the AL chief not to allow Faruque to run the elections in the seat.
In Nilphamari-4 (Syedpur and part of Kishoreganj upazila) constituency, AL nominated Col (retd) Maruf Saqlain as the party candidate. He lost to BNP candidate Amzad Hossain Sarkar with a narrow margin of 2,914 votes in the 2001 elections. This year, JP nominated a new comer named Sakhwat Chowdhury, also a BNP deserter.
In Nilphamari-2 (Sadar upazila) constituency, Asaduzzman Noor was elected a lawmaker defeating JP candidate Joynal Abedin.