BNP picks Sakhawat as Narayanganj mayor candidate

The BNP has put up Sakhawat Hossain Khan, lawyer for a plaintiff in the seven-murder cases, as its Mayor candidate for the Narayanganj City Corporation.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 22 Nov 2016, 05:47 AM
Updated : 22 Nov 2016, 12:07 PM

BNP Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi made the announcement at a press briefing at the party’s Naya Paltan headquarters on Tuesday.

Sakhawat, general secretary for BNP’s Narayanganj city unit, will have to battle sitting mayor Selina Hayat Ivy, who has again secured the ruling Awami League’s ticket for the election scheduled for Dec 22.

The lawyer has been best known for representing a plaintiff in the murder case of attorney Chandan Kumar Sarkar, who was killed along with six others in the city in 2014.

He is also a former president of the Narayanganj District Bar Association.

Ivy was elected in 2011 after a primary campaign against several local and central leaders. During the election she also beat influential Awami League leader AKM Shamim Osman.

On Friday, the Awami league’s local government nomination board again chose Ivy as its mayor candidate.

Though the BNP had nominated Taimur Alam Khandkar as its mayor candidate during the 2011 election, the party asked him to withdraw the night before the election.

Taimur, the current BNP district chairperson, has often expressed his displeasure with the decision.

The BNP had encouraged Taimur to again put forward his candidacy for the upcoming election but he declined, citing his bitter experience.

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia discussed the nomination with the BNP nomination board and the party’s Narayanganj city, district, area and ward leaders on Monday night before the party decided on Sakhawat.