AL in Sylhet City Polls: Rift feared because of ‘an outsider’
The Awami League's decision to nominate Anwaruzzaman Chowdhury, who is not even a part of any party units in Sylhet, may create a rift in the grassroots ahead of the upcoming mayoral polls.
Local party leaders and activists fear Anwaruzzaman might face a party rebel in the election due to high dissatisfaction among other nomination seekers, who are key figures in AL politics.
If there is no party rebel, a section of key ruling party leaders and their followers may even secretly extend support to the current mayor and BNP leader, Ariful Haque Choudhury, if he contests the polls, said insiders.
"If he [Anwaruzzaman], as an outsider in the city, wins the election with the Awami League ticket, it would be the end of the grassroots politics in Sylhet," said a senior AL leader, wishing not to be named.
In 2002, the Sylhet Municipality was upgraded to Sylhet City Corporation and AL nominated Badar Uddin Ahmed Kamran in all four elections till 2018. He lost the 2018 polls as many of the grassroots leaders worked against him and favoured Ariful Haque.
Kamran died of coronavirus in 2020. Several other leaders sought AL nomination in the city polls slated for June 21.
Of them, the most notable aspirants are former central organising secretary Misbah Uddin Siraj and Sylhet city unit Vice-President Asad Uddin Ahmed, General Secretary Zakir Hossain and Joint Secretary ATMA Hasan Jebul.
Besides, Kamran's son and city unit's Organising Secretary Arman Ahmed Shiplu, and Joint Secretary and city councillor Azadur Rahman Azad are also prominent names.
When the local leaders were preparing for the polls, Anwaruzzaman Chowdhury, joint secretary of the AL's United Kingdom unit, returned to Bangladesh on January 22 and claimed to have received a "special message" from the party high-ups regarding the party ticket.
After much speculation and turmoil, 11 AL leaders bought nomination forms earlier this month. The AL Nomination Board last Saturday selected Anwaruzzaman.
Though never involved in the AL politics in the city, Anwaruzzaman was a nomination seeker for the Sylhet-2 constituency in the last two national elections.
Several senior AL leaders said Anwaruzzaman was not nominated for the constituency as former parliamentarian Shafiqur Rahman Chowdhury, also president of Sylhet district unit, was also an aspirant.
Notably, both the Chowdhurys have a business based in the UK and keep close acquaintance with top AL leaders.
Because of their rivalry, the party left the seat to Jatiya Party in both elections.
With Anwaruzzaman's mayoral nomination, the row over Sylhet-2 has ended but it gave rise to the possibility of a new conflict.
Meanwhile on Sunday, after returning to Sylhet after a 14-day London tour, Ariful Haque Choudhury said his party BNP will not participate in the city election but he will honour citizens' wishes.
According to several BNP leaders, Ariful secured a signal from BNP's acting chairperson Tarique Rahman in London to participate as an independent candidate by resigning from his party post.
Local AL sources say if Ariful opts out, the AL might see a rebel candidate.
Misbah Uddin Siraj, former organising secretary of AL central committee, said, "Every decision draws a reaction. The Awami League is a historic party and when the party decided something, there is nothing to say against it. We vowed to work for the candidate nominated by the party."
While talking to the correspondent, several other aspirants also spoke similarly and said they will work for Boat, the election symbol of AL.
After securing the AL nomination, Anwaruzzaman landed at Sylhet Airport from Dhaka yesterday afternoon.
Asked about the discontent within the grassroots, he said, "Awami League is a big political party and that's why there are many aspirants. But they all congratulated me and talked to me positively. I wish to work with everyone."
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