Sylhet City Corporation Polls
EC plan warms up AL, BNP as new faces line up
Badar Uddin Ahmed Kamran, M A Haque and Nasim Hossain
With the Election Commission's target to hold city corporation elections by April this year, the political circle in the city is getting warmer, but in a different atmosphere this time. Both Awami League (AL) and BNP camps have taken EC's move as in a positive way after the big shake-up in local political circle after one eleven. But, things are yet get clear due to restriction on politics, said a number of leaders in both the camps. Senior Awami League leaders and insiders said the party may field detained sitting mayor Sylhet city AL chief Badar Uddin Ahmed Kamran for the mayoral post again as he is yet to be convicted in any of the cases. The High Court on 31 January declared Kamran's detention illegal. Kamran is in jail on graft charges. A section of the party is also thinking of an alternative if there remains legal bar for Kamran's candidature, the sources said. Some senior AL leaders met former Pourashava chairman AFM Kamal weeks ago and offered him to join the party for the mayoral run. Kamal is also considering the offer. When contacted, AFM Kamal told the Daily Star, “I have got a call from the Awami League. I am looking into possibilities. “However, I am yet to take any decision”, Kamal said. It will take time for things to be clear as there are restrictions on the politics, he added. But, some AL leaders have reacted to this. City AL general secretary Misbah Uddin Ahmed Siraj said, the party should look for a 'suitable alternative within the party'. “The party does not need to bring some one from outside”, he said. Other sources said Misbah may also be a mayoral candidate in the Sylhet City Corporation (SCC) polls. Former chairman of Sylhet pourashava and Sadar upazila party chief Babrul Hossain Babul is also an aspirant. Although he has a vote bank, Babul failed to regain all out support from AL rank and file after he returned to the party in 2001. There is a strong rivalry in the party against his candidature, party sources said. A section of the party men are interested in acting Mayor Azam Khan this time. Khan is also not opposing the idea, the sources claimed. New aspirants in the AL camp include district AL vice-president Zahir Chowdhury Sufian and joint sAshfaque Ahmed. BNP in Sylhet is not in a comfortable position due to the division in the centre. The Saifur-Hafij group has hinted about joining the city corporation polls but Khondaker Delwar-led faction is yet to make their position clear. Though majority of leaders in Sylhet BNP were aligned with party stalwart Saifur Rahman, now they are in an uncomfortable position as their stance is being questioned by grassroots leaders and workers. Saifur's rival former lawmaker M Ilyas Ali is with Delwar. All the leading people in Ilyas-led faction were dropped from important party positions by their Saifur-backed rivals in 2004. Ilyas also lost the position of district BNP convener during BNP rule as he along with two other lawmakers dissented with Saifur. By now, the gap has widened as Ilyas loyalists termed the Saifur-Hafij faction 'betrayers'. In such a situation, BNP is in trouble in fielding a candidate in the mayoral run. None from Saifur-Hafij faction is coming forward openly with any opinion. The then district BNP chief MA Haque, known as the most trusted man of Saifur, fought for the mayor post in the first SCC polls in 2003. Saifur fielded him defying opposition from local party men. He was defeated by Kamran with a big margin. Since then, Haque was almost silent. He has become again active now to run in the mayoral race. Sylhet BNP general secretary Nasim Hossain, also a senior vice-president of Sylhet Chamber of Commerce and Industries, is also an aspirant for the mayoral post. “I have already started mass contact since indoor politics is also not yet allowed”, he told this correspondent. Jamat-e-Islami will field its city chief Dr. Shafiqur Rahman for the mayoral post, party sources said.
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