Awami League feeling public pulse on Dhaka North mayor aspirants

The Awami League is feeling the public pulse before naming its candidate for the Dhaka North mayoral by-polls, the party’s general secretary has said.

Obaidul Quader told a programme in Dhaka’s Dhanmondi on Tuesday that they would make an announcement on Dhaka North candidacy once the polls schedule is out.

“Our leader (Sheikh Hasina) may have asked someone to start working. The leader can surely do this to check the aspirant’s popularity, how much people expect of him or her, how the aspirant can accommodate himself or herself to the polls environment if nominated,” Quader said.

“She (Hasina) has told one of the aspirants (to campaign), but the announcement will be made officially,” he added.  

The Dhaka North City Corporation mayor Annisul Huq died on Nov 30, and it means the Election Commission has to hold the by-polls within Feb 28 next year.

The followers of the aspirants have already covered the Dhaka North areas with posters, banners and festoons expressing the wish to see them as mayor.

Among the hopefuls, former BGMEA president Atiqul Islam has reportedly received the Awami League’s green light.

A senior leader of the party has told bdnews24.com that Atiqul received the go-ahead at a meeting with Prime Minister Hasina at the Ganabhaban last week.

Atiqul told bdnews24.com he was hoping to get the party’s nomination but was not eager to speak about the matter before the official announcement.

The Awami League also discussed the names of business leader AK Azad, Kamal Ahmed Majumder MP, former MPs HBM Iqbal and Kabori Sarwar and Dhaka Metropolitan Awami League North General Secretary Sadek Khan as hopefuls in a Ganabhaban meeting of its Presidium.

Quader said they were also checking how much the aspirants would be able to fill up the vacancy left by Annisul.