Awami League-backed Mayoral candidate for maiden Gazipur City Corporation polls, Azmat Ullah Khan met Jatiya Party Chairman Hussein Muhammad Ershad and sought his support in the upcoming elections.However, it was not clear until Monday morning whether Ershad would extend his support to the candidate.
Jatiya Party is an ally of the ruling Awami League-led coalition government.
Azmat Ullah paid a visit to Ershad’s Baridhara residence around 9:00am on Monday morning. The duo held discussions for quite some time.
A former Mayor of Tongi municipality, Azmat Ullah, told bdnews24.com on phone that he sought blessing and support from the Jatiya Party chief. “He (Ershad) is my senior, a leader of the Grand Alliance. He gave me his blessings.”
However, he denied commenting on whether he got Ershad’s support for his candidacy. “It will not be right if I tell this. The announcement will come from his party.”
Jatiya Party was divided on its stand on the maiden Gazipur city poll which is scheduled to begin on Jul 6.
Gazipur municipality Jatiya Party chief Monowar Hossain-led faction supported the Awami League-led 14-Party Grand alliance-backed candidate Azmat Ullah.
On the other hand the faction led by party General Secretary Ramzan Ali was favouring MA Mannan, who is backed by BNP-led 18-Party alliance. Jatiya Party Presidium member Kazi Mahmud Hassan, who withdrew his nomination from the election, is also supporting this candidate.
Jatiya Party Chairman Ershad, however, gave no clear indication of his inclination, which has led to the division in the party.
The division is so wide, that either faction is blaming the other for being ‘sold out’ to a bigger party. – bdnews24.com
