Jubo Mahila League leader Tahmina Haque Mollah has won the Awami League ticket for contesting the upcoming mayoral polls in Thakurgaon municipality.
Her nomination has surprised many in the local politics as they say she was not even a favourite but has succeeded in getting ahead of a number of heavyweights, including advocate Makbul Hossain Babu, acting president of Awami League’s district unit, SMA Moyeen, incumbent mayor and former organising secretary of the district unit, incumbent panel mayor Bablur Rahman Bablu and former joint general secretary of the district unit Golam Faruque Rubel.
They also said many influential leaders of the central committee bank on Tahmina, who is also a former upazila vice-chairman.
In response to winning the nomination, Tahmina told the Dhaka Tribune she would dedicate her life to work for the welfare of the people by following the ideals of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The incumbent mayor, Moyeen, said he would work in favour of the candidate nominated by the party and there was no question about it.
Shahjahan, a key leader of Awami League’s Thakurgaon Sadar unit, said the district unit of the party has two factions and it is likely that both groups will support Tahmina.
On the other hand, BNP’s nomination may go to Mirza Faisal Amin, vice-chairman of BNP’s Thakurgaon district unit, or Chowdhury Golam Sarwar Ranju, who failed in the last elections as a BNP candidate.
Meanwhile, Kachir Miah, former municipal chairman, and Jubo League leader Md Alamgir have won the ruling party’s mayoral nominations in Pirganj and Ranishankail municipalities.
Jatiya Party’s Golam Hasan, who is the first chairman of Pirganj municipality, is likely to compete against Kachir in the polls.
Selina Jahan Lita, reserved-seat lawmaker for Thakurgaon-Panchagarh, believes victory is certain for Awami League candidates in the municipal elections.
“It was a brave decision for the prime minister to choose a female candidate for the mayoral race. In the future, this will be described as a key step towards women empowerment in the country,” she said.
Thakurgaon 1 lawmaker Ramesh Chandra Sen, a former minister, said the pro-Liberation War group would claim victory in the municipal elections, which is what happened in the last polls. “People will vote for these candidates.”
Thakurgaon Awami League’s General Secretary Sadeq Kuraishi said he believes that each member of the party would put his best efforts to implement the decision of the prime minister, who is also the president of the party.