Independents and party rebels stand poised to impact the outcome of Rajshahi Division’s 50 municipal elections today.
Polls watchers yesterday said party renegades and independent candidates were expected to have a major impact on the elections, with some saying that they could pull off upsets in up to a fifth of the seats being contested.
Even if they fail to win the seats, observers said their shares of the votes cast could cost the top picks their seats.
In Rajshahi district, two Jamaat candidates, running as independents because otherwise they could not contest the polls, two rebel Awami League and a BNP rebel candidate have joined the fray. Jamaat leader and current Katakhali Mayor Majedur Rahman is believed likely to win the contest.
BNP renegade and current mayor of Tanor municipality Firoz Sarker could cause trouble for his party’s top pick Mizanur Rahman Mizan, with voters saying the mayor’s popularity could keep him in office for another term.
BNP and Awami League candidates are expected to face off in seven of nine municipalities in Bogra.
In the remaining constituencies two ruling party rebels and a Jamaat leader running as an independent will slice up the support base in the fight for the seats.
In Dhanut, Mayor AGM Badshah, who is running as an independent, will take on the Awami League’s Shariful Islam for the seat.
In Shariakandi, BNP candidate Mayor Tipu Sultan, who regained his candidacy after a legal battle, is looking strong as he faces a divided camp consisting of a party-backed and a renegade Awami League candidate for the seat.
In Joypurhat, the Awami League has a strong chance to win comfortably in three seats where they will face two BNP rebels in the polls.
In Akkelpur, a BNP renegade is cutting BNP-backed Alamgir Chowdhury Badshah’s chances, giving the Awami League an advantage for the seat.
The same situation prevails in Kalai municipality.
The Awami League stands to gain from such advantages in two seats – Sadar and Raiganj.
In Sadar a BNP renegade, and in Raiganj a Jamaat independent, have divided the opposition camp. But some observers insist the contest remains an open field for all three parties.
In Shahzadpur municipality, the advantage is likely to be with the BNP candidate.
But the situation is quite different in Sirajganj where the BNP and Awami League are expected to fight to the bitter end in the six municipalities of the district.
The Dhaka Tribune’s Chapainawabganj correspondent reports that although the district has long been regarded as a BNP-Jamaat stronghold, support for the ruling party has surged since the 2008 national elections.
The BNP and Awami League are poised to battle it out over Chapainawabganj’s four municipalities where observers foresee a possible split of the electoral spoils.
