Hefazat-e-Islam, in league with Jamaat-e-Islami, is campaigning for BNP-backed candidate MA Mannan in Gazipur with the hope that he can save Hefazat leaders from police pursuit.
The Hefazat leaders are persuading their members to work hard to help Mannan win the election. The leaders are telling them that if Mannan wins, their leaders and activists, who have been on the run since May 6, can return to their homes.
On May 6, when the Hefazat–e-Islam laid a siege to Dhaka, law enforcers carried out a crackdown on them to flush them out of the capital and later filed cases against scores of Hefazat leaders across the country.
A number of Hefazat leaders told Dhaka Tribune that they have been working hard to ensure MA Mannan’s win.
Hafez Ameer Hamza, a local leader of Hefazat, told the Dhaka Tribune that they believe the imam (mosque leader) of Gazipur Central Mosjid, Mawlana Monir Ahmed Khan - who is now absconding due to the cases filed against him - can return home if Mannan wins the election.
“He is an Islamic scholar and false cases were filed against him. We are working in favour of Mannan so that the Imam can return to the mosque he worked for,” he said.
Jahirul Islam, Publicity Secretary of the Hefazat-e-Islam Gazipur Unit, told the Dhaka Tribune that although they did not get any assurance, they believed they would get the upper hand if Mannan wins the poll.
“All our activists are working hard to ensure Mannan’s win,” he said.
A number of Jamaat leaders also said they believed they would be in more advantageous position politically if Mannan wins the election and they are working their hardest to ensure the BNP-backed candidate’s triumph.
Hefazat-e-Islam’s Nayeb-e-Amir Ahmad Ahsrafullah asked the GCC voters to cast votes for MA Mannan.
