Bangladesh Nationalist Party has assigned as many as 20 senior leaders to select candidates to contest the ensuing upazila elections. The BNP assigned leaders have already started working in the districts concerned, according to party leaders.
The leaders are now visiting different districts for which they were assigned and holding view exchange meeting with grassroots level leaders to choose lone candidate in each upazila in a bid to defeat the ruling party candidates.“The BNP high command assigned as many as 20 leaders at chairperson’s adviser, vice-president and joint secretary level to coordinate the upazila polls particularly to choose lone candidate for chairman post in each upazila,” said a senior leader.
He said at the instruction of BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia, party’s acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has given the assignment to the leaders last week.
Of the assigned leaders, BNP chairperson’s adviser Dr Osman Faruk has been given responsibility to look after upazila polls in Mymensingh, Kishoreganj, Tangail and Netrakona, BNP vice-chairman Chowdhury Kamal Ibne Yusuf for Faridpur, Madaripur, Rajbari, Goplaganj and Shariatpur districts.
BNP joint secretary general Abdullah Al Noman has been entrusted the responsibility to coordinate upazila polls in Chittaong, KHagrachari, Bandarban and Rangamati districts.
BNP vice-chairman Shamser Mobin Chowdhury and joint secretary general Md Shajahan have been assigned to coordinate upazila elections in Sylhet and Naokhali districts.
BNP standing committee member Lt Gen (Retd) Mahbubur Rahman told The Independent that the main task of the assigned leaders would be to coordinate among the candidates to select lone candidate for each upazila and monitor the upazila polls.
“The leaders will also try to resolve the existing problems through discussion among the local leaders,” he said.
Replying to a question, Mahbubur Rahman said the upazila chairmen candidates belong to the BNP and 19-party alliance are in a good position.
“People are fed up with the present government since they came to power through a staged and farcical parliamentary poll. We expect that the BNP and 19-party candidates will win the polls with a huge margin of votes,” he said.
The Election Commission on January 20 announced upazila election schedule.
In the first phase, elections to 98 upazilas (sub-districts) out of 487 will take place on February 19.
A total of 692 candidates have filed nomination papers for contesting the post of chairman of 98 upazilas in the country. Of the chairman candidates 252 belong to the ruling Awami League, 235 are from the BNP, 29 from Jatiya Party (Ershad), 33 from Jamaat and 142 independent and others.
According to the election schedule, the last date of withdrawal of nomination paper is February 3. – Staff Reporter
