Dhaka south Awami League split over mayor choice

Awami League supporters in Dhaka South City Corporation are split over who to back as the party's mayor candidate in the upcoming polls.

Organising secretary of the ruling party’s Dhaka city unit Sayeed Khokon, and Joint General Secretary Haji Mohammad Salim both started campaigning before the poll schedule was announced last Wednesday.
 
Khokon, son of Dhaka’s first elected mayor late Awami League leader Mohammad Hanif, has said he is campaigning after getting the nod from party chief Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
 
On the other hand, Salim, who has won the parliament election fighting as an independent candidate, has said he is contesting the polls as the people of the locality want him as the mayor.
 
The city corporation has 57 general and 19 preserved wards of over 1.8 million voters.
 
Conversations with Awami League leaders and activists at Old Dhaka’s Islampur, Chawk Bazar, Kamrangirchar, Lalbagh and Shakhari Bazar have showed that Salim has more popularity in these areas.
 
Those in Sutrapur, Gendaria, Kaltabazar, Bangshal and Wari tend to support Khokon .
 
Businessman Ikram Hossain from Kamrangirchar’s Matbar Bazar said Salim would win 80 percent votes in the area.
 
“Because officials and beneficiaries of Haji Salim’s institutes live here,” he explained.
 
Dulal Mia, an official of Lalbagh’s Mitford Hospital, said he would vote for Salim.
 
“He is always with us in our ups and downs,” he said.
 
Sutrapur, an area only around a kilometre away from the hospital, presents a different picture.
 
Suhrawardy College student Aminul Islam Rajib said he wanted to see Khokon as the mayor.
 
“We don’t want any land grabber as the mayor,” he indicated Salim.
 
Bangshal’s businessman Sarwar Alam said, “Mayor Hanif was a great man. We’ll support his son.”
 

Awami League’s Lalbagh unit leader Shah Newaz said he supported Salim.

“This man (Salim) really worked for the development of Old Dhaka. He works on the field while the others want to complete jobs with words,” he said.

Swechchasebak League’s chief of the unit Ahmed Nasir said he would not violate party decision to back Khokon.

Local Awami League leaders have said they are yet to know the party decision over backing someone in the mayoral fight.

They said they would work as per the party decision once it was announced officially.

According to the schedule, aspirants will have to submit nomination papers within Mar 29 for the polls on Apr 28.