In an attempt to counter BNP’s upper-hand at having party chief Khaleda Zia campaign for city polls candidates, the ruling party is now planning to use the popularity of Sajeeb Wazed Joy to boost chances for candidates it is backing.
A meeting of the Awami League Central Working Committee (ALCWC) on Wednesday reached a decision in this regard; however, when or how Joy would join the election campaigns has not been finalised yet.
Unlike many of the top leadership of the Awami League, Joy, the son of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and also her ICT affairs adviser, has no restriction against promoting candidates for the upcoming city corporation elections.
According to article 14(A) of the electoral code of conduct, ministers, state ministers, deputy ministers or anybody of their status cannot participate in election campaigns or electoral activities.
It also means that BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia has no bar to campaigning for the candidates backed by her party.
Last Tuesday, from a programme in front of the party’s Nayapaltan headquarters, Khaleda endorsed the candidacies of Tabith M Awal and Mirza Abbas, BNP-backed candidates for Dhaka North and Dhaka South respectively, and called for a silent ballot revolution against a “repressive government.”
With most of the BNP’s top leaders remaining behind bars or staying in hiding, the endorsement by the three-times prime minister gave a massive boost to the aspirants in Dhaka.
Sources inside the Awami League told the Dhaka Tribune that Khaleda’s involvement in the city polls campaigning put extra pressure on the party to find a way to counter the move by their political rivals.
On Wednesday, the ALCWC sat in a closed-door meeting at the Gonobhaban, where party policy-makers discussed how the Awami League could go for counter-programmes against Khaleda’s publicity drive.
It was there the party leaders decided on utilising the popularity of Joy to boost the mayoral and councillor bids of their party-backed aspirants in Dhaka and Chittagong, sources present at the meeting told the Dhaka Tribune.
Hasina also reportedly met with the party’s advisory council to discuss the issue.
When contacted on Thursday, the prime minister’s Information Adviser Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, however, said the issue of Joy’s involvement in the city polls campaigning had not been finalised.
“He [Joy] could join the polls [campaigning], but it will depend on the situation and Khaleda Zia’s move,” he added.
Asked whether Joy’s role as a beneficiary of the government was a conflict to the electoral code, Iqbal said: “Joy was appointed without any salary, so there is no restriction against him carrying out campaigning [for the candidates]. Election Commission can clarify on this matter.”
A final decision on Joy’s involvement in the polls campaigning would be decided after the Awami League discusses the issue with the Election Commission, Iqbal added.
Since electioneering began for the city polls in Dhaka and Chittagong, there have been allegations that the ruling party-backed candidates and their supporters were frequently violating the electoral code of conduct.
The BNP and other political parties have repeatedly said there was no level playing field ahead of the April 28 elections, while also blaming the Election Commission for ignoring their complaints regarding electoral code violation by AL-backed candidates.