Rivalries among Awami League leaders over nomination have come into the
open in many constituencies after the announcement of the names of party
candidates on Friday for the 10th parliamentary elections.
With a hope to win AL tickets, a total of 2608 aspirants had collected party nomination forms against 300 constituencies.
After the announcement of the names of the party candidates on Friday,
the deprived aspirants and their supporters were staging protests in
different constituencies.
Many deprived aspirants have declared that they will contest the polls
as ‘rebel’ candidates. In Habiganj, Mushfiq Hossain Chowdhury for
Habiganj 1 and Syed Tanvir Ahmed for Habiganj 4 constituencies bought
nomination papers to contest the polls as ‘rebel’ candidates.
Supporters of Syed Tanvir Ahmed declared the party nomination winner Mahbub Ali ‘unwanted’ in the constituency.
Leaders and activists of a faction of Abhaynagar upazila unit of the AL
in Jessore district on Sunday observed a dawn-to-dusk general
strike at Nawapara in protest at the party’s giving nomination to Ranjit
Roy for Jessore 4 constituency. They demanded party nomination for whip
Sheikh Abdul Wahab.
AL has given nomination to Abu Reza Mohammad Nezamuddin Nadwi, faculty
member of the Jamaat-e-Islami-backed International Islamic University
Chittagong, for Chittagong 15 constituency (Satkania-Lohagara). Leaders
and activists of Satkania upazila unit of the AL protested at the
nomination for Nadwi’s links with Jamaat-e-Islami.
Abdul Matlab, acting president of Satkania unit of the AL, who was an
aspirant for the party ticket, told New Age that the grassroots leaders
and activists of the upazila did not accept the nomination of Nadwi for
the constituency as he had no relations with the AL, rather it was
widely known that he had links with Jamaat.
Nomination aspirants Yarul Islam and Makbul Hossain of Meherpur 1 and
Meherpur 2 constituencies on Saturday announced that they would contest
the polls as independent candidates to protest at the nomination of
Farhad Hossain Dudul and Abdul Khaleque for the two constituencies.
Leaders of Belkuchi upazila unit AL resigned en masse on Friday night as
former fisheries and livestock minister Abdul Latif Biswas did not get
nomination for Sirajganj 5 constituency. The AL has nominated Abdul
Majid Mandal for the parliamentary seat.
Supporters of Latif Biswas also staged demonstrations on Saturday to protest at the nomination of Abdul Majid.
AL leaders in Bogra 3 and Bogra 5 constituencies on Sunday staged
demonstrations and threatened to resign en masse if the party did not
replace the party candidates – Ansar Ali Mridha and Habibur Rahman – in
the two constituencies.
Several thousand supporters of former communications minister Syed Abul
Hossain took to the streets and blocked Dhaka-Barisal highway at Kalkini
shortly after the party named its central organising secretary AFM
Bahauddin Nasim as the candidate to contest the polls for Madaripur 2
constituency instead of Abul Hossain.
Nomination of Reza Ali, a lawmaker, for Mymensingh 7 constituency
sparked protests and clashes at Trishal leaving at least 10 injured. The
activists loyal to nomination aspirants Madani and Anisuzzaman brought
out violent processions soon after the announcement of Reza Ali’s
nomination. They also barricaded Dhaka-Mymensingh highway, halting
traffic for over an hour.
In protest at the nomination of AL central committee member Kazi Nabil
Ahmad for Jessore 3 constituency, supporters of Shaheen Chakladar,
general secretary of Jessore district AL, blocked highways at least at
12 points in Jessore town. They also declared Nabil ‘unwanted’ in
Jessore.
Supporters of nomination aspirant Mostafa protested at the nomination of Monirul Islam Monir for Jessore-2 constituency.
Followers of deprived aspirants also staged protests in Jessore 4,
Sirajganj 4, Bogra 5, Kushtia 4 Narail 2, Kishoreganj 3, Cox’s Bazar 3,
Dhaka 4, Gaibanda 4, Naogaon 3 and Nilphamari 4.
Sitting lawmaker AA Maruf Saqlain won the party ticket for Niphamari 4
(Syedpur-Kishoreganj) constituency despite protests by grassroots
leaders of the two upazilas. During the meeting with the party president
Sheikh Hasina in September, they urged her not to nominate Saqlain
again as he had detached himself from the party activists and local
people since the last elections.
Deprived nomination aspirant for the constituency, Kohinur Akter told
New Age that they were stunned by the party’s decision to nominate
Saqlain again.
AL presidium member Mohammad Nasim said it was difficult for a large
political party like the Awami League to satisfy all. ‘There might be
dissatisfactions over the nominations but it would not continue for long
as all will be united and work for the party candidates when the
electioneering will start,’ he said. (source)