Ruling Awami League (AL) may take a strategy not to nominate any candidate to contest the upcoming Upazila polls with Boat symbol to ease the brewing commotion in the grassroots.
Insiders say that the party may take such policy to avert intra-party feud that has been surfacing following the AL’s decision of allowing the grassroots leaders to contest in the January 7 parliamentary elections.
Taking the opportunity, independent candidates, mostly grassroots leaders of the AL, vied the polls in 181 seats out of 299 seats and as many as 62 independent candidates became victorious, defeating the AL-backed candidates, resulting in acts of violence in many areas.
Sheikh Hasina, after taking oath as Prime Minister for the fourth consecutive term, asked the party leaders and activists to remain united to work for the welfare of the people by forgetting the pains of defeat in the January 7 elections.
“Many of us have contested the polls. Some of us have become victorious while some have faced the defeat. We all must work together again for the welfare of the people, who have voted for us, defying the call of the BNP-Jamaat clique to boycott the polls. The confidence and trust of the people, earned by the Awami League, must be upheld,” she said.
The government enacted the Upazila Parishad Act in 2015 keeping provisions to the chairman candidates to contest the polls using party symbols of registered political parties.
When asked, AL joint general secretary AFM Bahauddin Nasim told Bangladesh Post that the issue had already been discussed in the party forum.
“Considering the unity of the party, the party may not nominate any chairman candidate to run the Upazila Parishad polls using the Boat symbol,” he said.
“If other political parties take part in the polls, the party may revise the decision and nominate candidates to run the race using the party symbol,” he added.
Major opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, which has boycotted the January 7 general polls, has not been participating in the local government polls since the 11th parliamentary polls.
Central leaders say that they have been trying to ease the brewing commotion in the grassroots before the Upazila Parishad polls.
Elections to the Upazila Parishads, which will be held in phases, may begin in March.
The issue may also be discussed during a meeting of the Awami League Central Working Committee, the highest policy making body of the party, to be held at Ganabhaban today (Monday) with AL president and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission hinted at holding the first phase of Upazila Parishad polls before the Ramadan, the fasting month for Muslims.
The month of Ramadan is likely to begin in March. Usually, elections are not held simultaneously in all upazilas as the commission holds the polls in a phase-by-phase manner.
“There is a possibility that the first phase of the upazila parishad elections will be held before Ramadan and the remaining phases will be held after the Ramadan,” EC additional secretary Ashok Kumar Debnath told reporters last week.
“The commission has so far received a list of 485 upazilas from the Local Government Division and the tenure of those councils will end by March,” he said.
There are 495 upazila parishads in the country. The elections should be held within 180 days before the expiry of the five year tenure.
