Chittagong BNP has decided to support M Manjur Alam who is seeking re-election to serve the port city as mayor for a second straight term.
Published : 26 Mar 2015, 04:42 PM
The announcement was made on Thursday afternoon following a meeting at the residence of Chittagong metropolitan BNP President Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury.
The central leaders are, however, yet to make the party’s stand clear on the Dhaka and Chittagong city corporations elections slated for Apr 28.
Amir Khosru said leaders of the city unit met following Manjur’s decision to contest as a candidate nominated by the Chittagong Unnayan Andolan (development movement).
“We all agreed that we want to elect him mayor,” he said.
Chittagong Unnayan Andolan disclosed its plans to back Manjur on Wednesday.
He had won the previous city polls after being nominated by the same platform.
Amir Khosru also said the central BNP was yet to take a decision on the poll participation issue.
BNP Vice-Chairman Abdullah Al Noman, National Executive Committee Member Mahbubur Rahman Shamim, Chittagong district’s south unit President Jafrul Islam and city unit Vice-Chairman Shamshul Alam were also present at the meeting.
Grassroots leaders and activists gathered outside the house to hear about the decision.
Khosru told them after the meeting that the party was going through a ‘hard time’.
“This election is not just about Manjur Alam’s victory, it will settle whether we will win in the movement or not,” he said.
“It’s not a general election (but) we’ll have to win it if we want to win in the agitation,” he added.
Khosru will work as the chief polling agent of Manjur while Noman will act as the chief of the panel to conduct the election activities.
Manjur’s business office will be used as the polling office and Khosru’s residence will be used as coordination centre.
Manjur, backed by the Awami League, had been elected councillor of ward-10 thrice from 1994.
He acted as the mayor when then the mayor and Awami League leader ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury was arrested during the military-backed caretaker government.
After the Awami League took power in 2009, he emerged as a rival of his
Former political guru Mohiuddin and won with a margin of around 95,000
votes.
The BNP at the time, too, announced its support for him a day after he had announced to contest from the platform of Chittagong Unnayan Andolan.
Before Thursday’s meeting, Noman said he did not believe the polls will be meaningful. “But we’ve taken it as a challenge.”
He was hopeful that Manjur will win with a margin larger than he had done before if the polls were ‘fair and peaceful’.
“It’s not only Chittagong’s vote. Support for the movement will be created across the country through Manjur’s victory,” he said.
The BNP vice-chairman said the decision to take part in the election was a part of the movement.
The party would be able to fix its next course of action after watching the polls, he added.
Manjur was expecting Chairperson Khaleda Zia will to support him as she had done in the last Chittagong city polls.
He also said he will speak about his plan to resign and collect nomination papers within a day or two.