The Jatiya party’s local unit support to the Bangladesh National Party (BNP)- backed mayoral candidate, MA Mannan in the Gazipur City Corporation elections will likely demorialise the supporters of contestant Azmat, a number of Azmat supporters told the Dhaka Tribune.
“I have seen the negative impact on the activists. I think this will demoralise them,” Fazal Karim, ward 49 Juba League president, told the Dhaka Tribune on Sunday.
He said the party should have been careful about this issue.
Iqbal Hawlader, ward 49 Awami League treasurer, told the Dhaka Tribune, he thought the local JP’s support to MA Mannan would have a big impact on the election result.
But Azmat, the ruling party Awami League (AL)-backed mayoral candidate, rejected the claim. He said many of the JP activists are with him and working for him.
However, Hasan Uddin Sarkar, BNP central committee leader, said: “They (JP) have already come out for us in Tongi and other areas, they will also join our campaign in Joydevpur.”
Nurul Islam, secretary general of JP’s Gazipur city unit, said the party had asked its supporters to
withdraw immediately from campaigning on behalf of Azmat Ullah Khan, the AL-backed rival candidate. He said JP activists who were still campaigning for Azmat would be expelled.
On Friday, Nurul said JP would back Azmat according to the wishes of the party’s leaders. Nurul, however, declined to comment on JP’s sudden paradigm shift. JP had endorsed Mezbah Uddin Sarker as its candidate for the July 6 Gazipur polls, but after receiving his election symbol, he withdrew from the race.