Voters cannot approach Nasir as AL men encircle him

Ruling Awami League-endorsed Chittagong City mayoral aspirant AJM Nasir Uddin is travelling from one region to another to seek support but surrounded by party functionaries, he can barely mingle with the voters.

Awami League leaders and activists are forming circles around Nasir during campaign which voters are finding difficult to penetrate.

The scene repeated itself wherever the Nagorik Committee candidate went on Friday from morning to afternoon.

Nasir went to Bundle Road at Patharghata from his Andarkilla residence in the morning accompanied by around 10 Awami League leaders including metropolitan unit Vice-President Nurul Islam and Organising Secretary Noman Al Mahmud.

As he stopped at Najumia Lane, around a hundred local leaders and activists started shouting slogans for him.

Several leaders accompanying Nasir asked the party men over loudspeakers to make way for others but they did not pay any heed to the call.

Metropolitan Swechchhasebak League Convener AHM Ziauddin announced in the loudspeaker: “If you really want any good for Nasir Bhai, then help him get closer to voters. Don’t encircle him.”

At one stage, Nasir himself broke the circle and talk to several voters, who highlighted different problems of the area.

Nasir assured them of solving the problems if he was elected.

A tea vendor told bdnews24.com: “Leaders and activists accompany Nasir Bhai all the time. Now he has come to see us. But I couldn't even see him properly as he was encircled by leaders and activists.

“I wanted to say something to him, but I did not get the chance.”

Later, the mayoral aspirant went to the road in front of Patharghata High School and addressed the people gathered there standing on a mini-truck.

The leaders and activists encircled the truck keeping the people off.

Nasir conducted mass contact campaigns at Jhautala, Baish Mahalla and Firingi Bazar later in the day.