Local leaders of the Awami League and its associate bodies in Khagrachhari have expressed discontent with the mayoral nominations for Khagrachhari and Matiranga municipalities.
They say both the candidates – Md Shaney Alam in Khagrachhari municipality and Md Shamsul Haque in Matiranga municipality – contested the last upazila elections for chairman posts but failed.
Jubo League’s Khagrachhari municipality unit General Secretary Zabed Hossain said Shaney’s past defeat in the upazila elections should have been considered before nominating him to contest the upcoming mayoral polls.
“Shaney, who was the Awami League-backed candidate in the upazila polls, bagged 9,572 votes while United People’s Democratic Front-backed contestant Chunchhumoni Chakma secured 13,424 votes and was elected the upazila chairman.
“Shaney’s popularity is on the wane and the Awami League has taken a risky step by choosing him to contest the mayoral elections,” Zabed said.
“But we will set aside our disappointment and will campaign for him because this is a question of prestige for us.”
Jubo League’s Matiranga municipality unit President Harun-ur-Rashid Farayezi made the same remark while talking about Shamsul’s mayoral nomination.
“The Awami League fielded Shamsul in the upazila polls and he got 15,167 votes. He lost to BNP-backed candidate Tazul Islam, who became chairman after bagging 16,943 votes,” he said.
“Our central leaders could have chosen another candidate and I think it would not have been a bad idea even if the nominee was a fresh face in the mayoral elections.
“We have to admit that Shamsul’s nomination is a let-down but we will still accept the party’s decision. There is no point in disclosing our frustration publicly,” added Farayezi.
But Khagrachhari lawmaker Kujendra Lal Tripura, who is also the president of Awami League’s Khagrachhari district unit, refuted the claims of Zabed and Farayezi, saying that the two mayoral candidates were chosen after considering their contributions to the party.
Kujendra said Awami League is a major political party in the country and there are quite a lot of mayoral aspirants.
“Some leaders might be dejected as it is impossible for us to field all mayoral hopefuls in the upcoming elections but everything will be alright after campaigns begin,” he added.