A day after the Election Commission finished its scrutiny of nomination papers, some of Awami League’s rebel candidates have already started to withdraw their candidacy from the upcoming municipality polls.
“More than 10 rebel candidates have pulled out of the race. We hope the rest will withdraw nominations by December 13 [deadline],” Awami League Joint General Secretary Mahbub-Ul Alam Hanif told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.
The party had already issued a stern warning against the rebels, telling them that anyone defying Awami League’s decision and running in the December 30 election against party-backed candidates would face expulsion.
EC sources said the candidacy of 135 mayoral candidates were cancelled following scrutiny; they included many Awami League-backed men as well as the party’s rebel candidates.
On Sunday, Gopalganj Sadar municipality’s incumbent mayor and Awami League leader Rezaul Haque Shikder Razu withdrew his candidacy as the party had picked Razu’s cousin and former three-time municipality mayor Hasmat Ali Shikder Chunnu as its candidate.
Razu told the Dhaka Tribune that he stepped down from the race as per the party’s decision.
In Manikganj municipality, district Sramik League President Babul Sarkar also pulled out from the race as a rebel candidate, saying he did it respecting his party’s directive.
Awami League leader Abdul Malek, who submitted nomination as a rebel candidate in Rajshahi’s Puthia, also withdrew his nomination. “I have pulled out my nomination after the party’s warning [against rebels],” he said.
Sources said the Awami League saw at least 71 of its leaders submit nomination papers as rebel candidates.
Meanwhile, Awami League Joint General Secretary Jahangir Kabir Nanak said the party has asked the grassroots leaders who failed to secure party nominations to lend their support to the AL-backed candidates for ensuring their victory.
Sources from the 14-party alliance told the Dhaka Tribune that a meeting is scheduled to take place today at AL chief Sheikh Hasina’s Dhanmondi political office, where leaders of the alliance would meet to discuss the BNP’s participation in the election and to set an election strategy.
