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The independent candidates and their local supporters do not accept the ruling party decision to cede some seats to its allies
Published : 17 Dec 2023, 01:24 AM
Sanjida Khanam of the Awami League secured a significant victory in the Dhaka-4 seat during the ninth parliamentary polls. However, in the subsequent two elections, the Awami League ceded this constituency to Jatiya Party's Sayed Abu Hossain Babla.
The Awami League has nominated Sanjida again, while Awlad Hossain, a former assistant private secretary to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has decided to run as an independent candidate for the seat after he failed to secure a party ticket.
As talks continue between the two parties over sharing seats in the Jan 7 vote, the Awami League may ask Sanjida to step aside for Babla again.
In that case, Awlad sees it as an opportunity for him to win the seat with the votes of the Awami League supporters.
“I’m confident that anyone will lose to me. And the prime minister asked [Awami League leaders] to contest as independents,” he said and added top leaders told him to rest assured that he will not be asked to withdraw candidacy.
Mahmud Hasan Sumon, a local Awami League leader who left the chairmanship of Ishwarganj Upazila in Mymensingh-8 to contest in the parliamentary polls, is also hoping for a win if Awami League candidate Abdus Sattar is told to leave the seat for the Jatiya Party’s Fakhrul Imam.
“I’m under pressure from the people and party workers to contest the polls. The question of leaving the field does not arise,” he said, pointing out that he will get full support of local Awami League activists if the ruling party withdraws its candidate.
The Jatiya Party, which became the main opposition in the outgoing parliament with the ruling party’s backing, has fielded candidates for all 300 seats in the 12th parliamentary polls amid the BNP’s boycott.
Although the Jatiya Party has its own supporter base in some constituencies, especially in Rangpur Division where party founder late HM Ershad is still very popular, it needed the Awami League’s backing to win many of the seats.
It has declined to reveal the number of seats the Awami League has agreed to leave for them.
Jatiya Party Secretary General Mujibul Haque Chunnu said they only discussed the strategy to hold free and fair polls full of competition.
Masrur Mawla, an adviser to Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader, claimed: “We are not fighting for [discussing about] seats, but for a level playing field. If a level playing field is ensured, we will contest the election.”
Top Awami League leaders said the Jatiya Party and other allies have demanded that the ruling party order its leaders running as independents to drop out of the race in the seats left for the Jatiya Party.
They also said the party will not ask rebel candidates to withdraw their nomination.
“We won’t do that even in the constituencies we’ve chosen for our candidates,” said Joint General Secretary Mahbub-Ul Alam Hanif.
And like Awlad and Mahmud, the Awami League leaders running as independents are unwilling to leave the race.
Awami League MP Habib Hasan has secured the party’s ticket again to run for the seat, which he won in a by-election in 2020 after former home minister Sahara Khatun’s death.
Sherifa Quader, wife of GM Quader, is the Jatiya Party candidate for the seat.
Media reports suggest the Jatiya Party wants the Awami League to relinquish the seat to her.
But if the ruling party asks Habib to step aside, it may work in favour of Khasru Chowdhury, industries and commerce secretary of Dhaka Metropolitan North.
And he said he was not ready to step aside even for the Awami League candidate, let alone the Jatiya Party’s Sherifa.
“I’m competing with the Awami League candidate who has the party’s boat symbol. Then why would I withdraw if the party throws its support behind someone from the Jatiya Party? The question of withdrawing candidacy does not arise.”
Asked what he will do if his party pressures him to pull out of the race, he shot back: “Why will there be pressure to withdraw candidacy for a Jatiya Party nominee when I am free to fight with the Awami League candidate?”
