The Awami League-backed mayoral candidate, Azmat Ullah Khan, who appears to be in a neck-to-neck contest with his BNP rival, MA Mannan, is still vying for Jatiya Party’s (JP) support ahead of the Gazipur city polls.
Many of Azmat’s followers believe that JP’s support, even at the last minute of the race, will help the AL candidate win the election scheduled for next Saturday.
Azmat was in Dhaka on Monday to meet with the JP chairperson, HM Ershad.
“He is a respectful person. I went to see him this morning to get his blessings, and he blessed me,” Azmat said.
But Azmat would not say whether Ershad lent his party’s support or not: “You better ask him.”
Last Saturday, the JP local unit extended its support to the BNP-backed Mannan.
Azmat, however, claimed that JP leaders and activists in Tongi were behind him for the betterment of the newly formed city corporation.
Some local JP leaders said Azmat and his followers have been contacting them, asking for support.
“A local AL leader contacted me to support Azmat, but I told him it was not possible to bypass the party’s decision,” a JP leader of the Gazipur unit said.
On Monday, addressing a view exchange meeting in Gazipur organised by the EC, Azmat expressed concerns over his rivals’ misuse of religion. He said: “People’s religious sentiments are being abused in a very cunning way in the election campaign.”
Azmat complained that opponents were labelling some candidates atheists.
“They are circulating misleading posters and leaflets with false information and these are being used against me. The Election Commission should play a role in stopping this,” Azmat said.
Mannan, however, denied the allegation.
“We are not misusing religion in the election campaign. Rather, many leaflets are being circulated against me,” Mannan said.
Meanwhile, Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad, who was present at the meeting, said the misuse of religion was unacceptable, not only in elections, but in every sector.
“We should all play a role to stop it,” Kazi said.
A local cleric said some Islamist groups are supporting Azmat and are campaigning for him.
“We are not considering the party, but the person. Azmat is a good person and we are working for him,” said Hafez Sharif Hossain, who identified himself as assistant imam of the Baitul Nur Jame Masjid in Gazipur.
Following the defeat of the AL-backed mayoral candidates in the four city corporation polls last month, Azmat desperately wants to win this election to save his party’s face.
Abdul Wahab, a resident of the Gazipur Chourasta area, said Azmat had served as mayor in Tongi for 18 years. Abdul said Azmat now faces hurdles because of his past failure to mitigate the problems in the area.
Gazipur district AL president, AKM Mozammel Haque, in support of Azmat, said: “People have always voted for the right candidate, and I hope this time they will elect the most capable mayor for the city corporation.”
On the other hand, Mannan, a former state minister who has reappeared on the local political scene after a long time, seems to be faring well in the race.
“Mannan is likely to get a large number of votes in the elections,” said one voter.
Local BNP leader, Hasan Uddin Sarker, is positive that just like in the other four city elections, their mayoral contender will beat the AL-backed candidate by a huge margin in the Gazipur polls.
