Gazipur city polls: Candidates launch campaigns

Candidates vying for mayoral and ward councillor posts in Gazipur City Corporation election have officially launched their campaigns in the city. The campaigns kicked off on Tuesday after candidates received their electoral symbols from the Election Commission. “Now that we have our electoral symbols, we can start going to the voters,” said Jahangir Alam, the Awami League-backed candidate running for the mayor's office, who was allotted the boat symbol – traditionally the electoral symbol of the Awami League. Returning Officer Rakib Uddin Mandal started distributing electoral symbols among candidates at 11am on Tuesday. Seven candidates are contesting for the mayor's office, 256 candidates are contesting for member posts, and 84 candidates are contesting for reserved female member posts, the returning officer said. Among the mayoral candidates, BNP candidate Hasan Uddin Sarker received the paddy sheaf symbol, Communist Party of Bangladesh candidate Kazi Md Ruhul Amin received the sickle, Bangladesh Islami Oikya Jote’s Fazlur Rahman received the minaret, Bangladesh Islami Front candidate Jalaluddin Ahmed was allotted the candle, Bangladesh Islami Andolan candidate Nasiruddin received the handheld fan, and independent candidate Farid Ahmed received the table clock. Mayoral candidate Jahangir said his party and its allies in the 14-party alliance had agreed to campaign in the 57 wards of Gazipur city together in order to ensure Awami League's win. BNP mayoral candidate Hasan met with his party leaders at BNP district office in Gazipur after he received his electoral symbol. From there, he visited Haidrabad and Shakundibagh areas to engage with voters. Speaking about the election campaigns, Returning Officer Rakib Uddin Mandal said appropriate action would be taken against those who broke the electoral guidelines. “Some candidates started campaigning before getting their symbols, which is in violation of the guidelines set by the Election Commission,” he said. “Those who violated the code of conduct have already been served warnings.” Rakibuddin urged the candidates not to cause problems for citizens and students while running their campaigns. “The Election Commission is determined to present a level-playing field to all candidates,” he said. “Mayor and ward councillor candidates will be able to use only one microphone in each ward.”