The incumbent mayor of Sreepur municipality in Gazipur was nominated by the Awami League for the next election slated for December 30, but a rebel candidate has become a matter of concern for the ruling party.
The mayor, Anisur Rahman Anis, too was a rebel candidate during the previous election but later the party welcomed him. He is the acting president of Gazipur district unit Sramik League, workers’ wing of the ruling party.
The local Awami League leaders are divided over campaigning for the party-nominated candidate since the rebel candidate, Ahsan Ullah, is also popular.
Ahsan is an influential member of the upazila unit Awami League and the first vice-president of Sreepur University College Students’ Union.
“I did not seek nomination from the party. But it does not mean that I will not contest the polls. I cannot break the promises I made to my voters,” Ahsan told the Dhaka Tribune.
Anis is also hopeful of winning the polls. “I follow the party’s instructions. So the party has nominated me considering my contributions. I am 100% sure about my victory,” he added.
District unit Awami League General Secretary Azmat Ullah said that the party leaders should follow the central command and that rebel candidates should withdraw their nominations if they are really devoted to the party.
On the other hand, BNP has picked Sreepur municipal unit General Secretary Md Shahidullah Shahid as their mayor candidate. He is supposed to get support from all the leaders and activists of the party and the other components of the 20-party alliance.
A former student leader, Shahid is the son of late BNP leader Yakub Ali Master. Party leaders said Shahid might win the mayoral race because of his father’s reputation.
Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, Shahid expressed concerns about a fair election. He said that the party leaders and activists were afraid of arbitrary arrests, for which, many of them were staying outside home.
“I shall win if the election is held peacefully and the voters can cast their votes without any fear,” he added. There are around 58,000 voters in the grade II municipality.
Voters said that they were looking for an efficient mayor who would be able to ease their everyday sufferings caused due to the sorry state of the streets, unplanned drains, and water and gas shortage.
