Former BNP-backed Chittagong mayor Manjur seeks AL vote

Former BNP - backed mayor of Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) M Manjur Alam is seeking the Awami League vote in upcoming general election slated for December 30.

The former city mayor has been conducting a mass campaign in support of his nephew, Didarul Alam, who is contesting on Awami League’s ticket for Chittagong 4 constituency.

Highlighting the achievements of the incumbent government, Manjur also distributed leaflets and sought votes for the Awami League contestant.

Manjur said: “Awami League is a pro-liberation political party. Awami League is a party of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The country has achieved tremendous success in the last several years and we should cast our votes for AL to continue the development march.”

Manjur purchased his own nomination paper to contest the upcoming parliamentary election for Chittagong 10 constituency, on Awami League’s ticket.

A businessman and social worker, Manjur became a CCC ward councillor in 1994. He won three consecutive elections from his ward, and won the trust of three-time former CCC mayor ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury;  thus, the Awami League heavyweight entrusted Manjur with charge of the office nine times during the mayor’s absence.

In the 2010 CCC elections, Manjur, hitherto known as pro-Awami League, contested against Mohiuddin — with the BNP chief's blessing—and surprisingly defeated his political guru by a large margin.

During the last mayoral election, in 2015, BNP-backed Manjur Alam pulled out of the mayoral race a few hours into polling day  alleging that massive rigging was taking place.

However, in a more dramatic turn of events, he announced his retirement from politics , without citing a specific reason for his decision.