Tower Hamlets polls: Three Bangali mayoral candidates set to battle it out

Tower Hamlets, a borough in East London, is home to the largest number of Bangladeshi-origin citizens living in Britain. The mayoral and councillor election is scheduled to be held there on May 3. The aspirants are passing a busy time campaigning for a shot at winning the polls. Three Bangladeshi-origin British nationals are contesting for the mayoral position. The aspirants are Conservative Party candidate Dr Anwara Ali, Aspire Party candidate former deputy mayor Ohid Ahmed and People’s Alliance of Tower Hamlets candidate Rabina Khan. Dr Anwara Ali is a well respected physician in Tower Hamlets, and she also grew up in this borough. Ohid Ahmed is renowned for his politeness and honesty. Rabina Khan came under spotlight after bagging the second largest number of votes in the previous Tower Hamlets election. All three candidates had served as councillors for this borough, and they all hail from Gopalganj Upazila of Sylhet district. Incumbent Mayor John Biggs is running for re-election as a Labour Party candidate. A voter from Stepney ward, Tipu Ahmed said: “If only there was one Bangladeshi-origin mayoral candidate instead of three, the person would have surely won the election. “Some candidates, who have been nominated for the councillor position, can barely speak Bangla and English correctly. Some of these candidates are also facing allegations of embezzlement.” Tipu added that the polls result would have been favourable if either Rabina or Ohid had contested in the election. Oliur Rahman Khan, who is the editor of a newspaper published in Bangla from London, said: “The chances of winning for the three Bangladeshi candidates are quite slim. “Ohid and Rabina are from the same quarter, and they should have joined forces for the polls. However, judging by the existing disputes, scuffles and attacks, it appears that we are our own enemy.” In 2010, for the time in history, a Bangladeshi-origin British national named Lutfur Rahman became the mayor of Tower Hamlets. Lutfur won re-election in 2014 by beating John Biggs, but was suspended through a court order over allegations of corruption. The corruption case against Lutfur was filed by another Bangladeshi-origin businessman. A British court also banned Lutfur from contesting in the Tower Hamlets election for two terms. In the previous election, mayoral candidate Rabina Khan, backed by Lutfur Rahman, won 26,384 votes. However, Lutfur is not supporting Rabina in the upcoming election. This time he is supporting former deputy mayor Ohid Ahmed. Speaking to the reporter on different occasions, all three candidates have sought blessings and support of their community. Seven aspirants are contesting for the mayoral position, while 259 candidates are vying for 45 councillor posts in the Tower Hamlets election. Among the councillor candidates, a total of 113 are of Bangladeshi-origin. This article was first published on banglatribune.com