It’s anybody’s race, observers of the Chittagong City Corporation mayoral contest said yesterday, as Awami League-backed AJM Nasir and BNP-backed M Manjur Alam braced for a close finish.
With just a day to go before the election, there is no clear favourite for the port city race for top job.
The political calculus involved is complex – with several discrete but sizeable interest groups at play, each of which could easily swing the vote.
Experts said export processing zone and garment workers accounted for half a million votes, people connected to the port city’s many shrines and mausoleums represented some 400,000 votes and slum dwellers accounted for 300,000 votes. They said winning the hearts and minds of these voters was the way to victory for the contenders.
Manjur’s Orange will take on Nasir’s Elephant to woo some 1,813,449 voters.
In addition, national politics added another dimension to the city contest and loomed large as a factor in voters’ choices.
At his last press conference, Manjur’s chief election agent and the BNP city unit chief Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury said: “We urge voters: If you do not want to see this government any longer, vote for us...Nobody stays in power forever.”
Campaigning for his party’s candidate, Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan on Saturday said: “The prime minister cares for Chittagong. If the people here want development, they need to vote for our candidate to strengthen her hand.”
Waterlogging is Chittagong city voters’ top concern. It was also a top electoral issue during the last city polls on June 17, 2010. Manju defeated his rival largely on this issue, poll watchers said.
Manju’s inability to sort the problem out during his 5-year tenure could work against him. A severe downpour ahead of polling day could easily swing the vote.
On the other hand, residents of the port city recall the rowdiness of Nasir’s followers, many of whom are well-known extortionists and criminals.
Close associates of the two candidates, asking not to be named, told the Dhaka Tribune that they both have vote banks who could swing the polls results.
Party insiders told the Dhaka Tribune that Manjur and his family have more than 30 small and medium charitable organisations which provide help with the campaign. Every Ramadan, many poor people receive financial help from him. These beneficiaries form part of his vote bank.
Manjur’s main business concern is the Mostafa Hakim Group. The group of companies includes enterprises like Eagle Textiles and Taj Mahal Brand Cement, employing thousands of people who are also voters.
Jamaat and Shibir votes may also give him strength at the ballot box.
Manjur was elected councillor thrice from the Kattoli area. He has had nine spells as acting mayor of CCC. His camp claims that city corporation staff are loyal supporters.
Nasir’s popularity lies with educational institutions and sports organisations. Apart from the general public, he will get more than 50,000 votes from these sectors, his campaigners claimed.
His campaigners claim new voters, numbering around 73,850, will be his trump card at the polls. Some 217,000 voters from the Hindu and other communities will likely support him, they added.
Nasir is the Vice-President of Bangladesh Cricket Board. He is also President of Nasirabad Cooperative Housing Society where many people live. He also enjoys good relations with organisations connected with Chittagong port, his supporters said.
