The main opposition BNP in a meeting on Wednesday requested its right-wing allies, including the Jamaat-e-Islami and Hefazat-e-Islam, to work together for the party’s mayoral candidate Ariful Haque Chowdhury in the Sylhet City Corporation polls.
Speaking to the Dhaka Tribune afterwards, the general secretary of Hefazat’s Sylhet city unit mufti Fayzul Haque Jalalabadi confirmed that the Islami Oikya Jote and Hefazat-e-Islam are going to campaign together in favour of the BNP-backed candidate.
The decision was reached at an informal meeting held in Sylhet attended by at least a hundred 18-party alliance and Hefazat-e-Islam leaders.
Kalim Uddin Ahmed Milon, a former MP and general secretary of BNP Sunamganj district unit, told the Dhaka Tribune on Wednesday: “We had a very good meeting with Jamaat and Hefazat leaders. They assured us of working together in favour of our candidate.”
At the meeting the BNP standing committee member Khandakar Mosharraf Hossain asked 18-party alliance leaders to work together, leaving all disputes behind, and asked them to maintain good relations with Hefazat.
Mosharraf thanked the Sylhet city unit Jamaat Ameer Ehsanul Mahbub Jubayer for withdrawing their candidature and extending their support to the candidate backed by BNP.
He said: “Consider it a religious responsibility, as we all have to work together to ensure Ariful’s victory.”
“Our central leaders thanked the Hefazat and Jamaat leaders. The Hefazat leaders said they will not raise their 13-points demand during the campaign but they will indirectly raise the issue of the midnight raid on Hefazat,” said the BNP’s Kalim Uddin Ahmed.
In March Hefazat-e-Islam declared their 13-points demand, which includes the demand for a blasphemy with provisions for capital punishment.
On May 6, Hefazat’s supporters gathered in Dhaka’s Motijheel area, which they threatened to occupy until the government accepted the 13 points demanded. A late night operation by law enforcement agencies evicted the Islamists from the area.
A senior BNP leader said the meeting was called to bridge differences due to gaps that existed between Jamaat leaders and the BNP-backed candidate.
Duringthe meeting, the party’s central leaders told local leaders to stay alert to any “conspiracies” by the ruling party and asked them not to leave polling centres until results are announced.
Among others BNP’svice-chairman Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury, joint secretary general Mohammad Shahjahan, student affairs secretary Khairul Kabir Khokon, organising secretary of Khelafat Majlish Muntasir Ali, Abdul Malik Chowdhury of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam and other leaders were present at the meeting.
