Election campaign peaks in Sylhet

The election campaign in Sylhet reached the peak as the candidates geared up their electioneering to give a finishing touch yesterday.
A total of 32 candidates of different parties and independent runners are on the race in 6 seats of the district. Sylhet division has 50,81,487 voters in 19 constituencies this time.
The activists and supporters of the candidates held public meetings, brought out processions and made publicity using loud speakers in favour of their candidates starting from morning and continuing till late at night yesterday
The candidates were going house to house to seek votes making promises of meeting their demands, if elected. Local political analysts said there would be direct fight between AL and BNP candidates in almost all the seats of the division. Jamaat candidates are on 2 seats against the grand alliance men. BNP-led alliance got 9 out of 19 in 4 districts of the division in 2001 polls. However, later they got 2 others in by elections.
With only a day to the much-awaited elections, candidates including the stalwarts of both the alliances joined their last campaign yesterday. There had been no report of any untoward incident from anywhere of the district while preparations are almost final.
However, the well-experienced pre-election scenario is absent this time, a number of citizens said yesterday. All it happened due to the restrictions imposed by the EC, they opined, such things should be continued for the greater interest of the commoners.
A big procession was taken out in the city yesterday afternoon in support of the 4-party nominee M Saifur Rahman. Starting from the government Alia madrasah maidan the procession paraded the main streets and ended at the court point area. Saifur, along with some alliance leaders later joined mass contact programmes.
Grand alliance's AMA Muhith joined the grand rally at the Registry maidan at night. After the rally a big procession was also taken out in the city.
Muhith said he would re-establish the Haor development Board for ensuring the best utilisation of the vast and resourceful low-lying region of the country. Besides, immediate measures would be taken to resolve the crisis of pure drinking water, transportation problem and water logging in the city. City mayor Badar Uddin Ahmed Kamran and leaders of the grand alliance also spoke on.