Shamim Osman 'promises' to campaign for Ivy in Narayanganj mayor election

AKM Shamim Osman has 'promised' to solicit votes for his arch-rival Selina Hayat Ivy in the Narayanganj City Corporation election.

The families of the two local Awami League (AL) leaders have been at loggerheads for decades.

 

On Tuesday, they attended a meeting with party chief and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the Ganabahaban.

 

Speaking to the media after the meeting, AL General Secretary Obaidul Quader said they had agreed to work together.

 

"A meeting with the party-nominated candidate Ivy and local Awami League leaders, including Shamim Osman, has been held.

 

"We have agreed to work together for the party's candidate," he said.

 

In the last elections, Ivy defeated Osman by over 100,000 votes to become the first female mayor in Bangladesh.

The two have been carrying the legacy of the decades-old rivalry in local politics started by their fathers.

In 2014, Osman and Ivy furiously spat on live television,

turning a talk-show into a battleground

.

Ivy had called Osman the 'godfather,' who was 'indirectly' behind the sensational seven murders.

Osman, an MP from Narayanganj, had described Ivy as the 'champion of corruption'.

AL General Secretary Quader, however, said the hatchet between them will not impact the party's election chances.

"It was not good. The Awami League is a huge family; there might be some disagreements among the family members," he said.

"But election is the key thing now, there's no room for disagreement," Quader said adding that the party chief has instructed everyone to work together.

Ivy, Shamim and three other local Awami League leaders entered the Ganabhaban in the evening and left around 10pm.