SCC election: Awami League united in Sylhet

Party unity is getting stronger in favor of Awami League nominated candidate in Sylhet City Corporation election. The party does not want to repeat the defeat of former mayor Badruddin Ahmad Kamran. That is why the central leaders came to Sylhet and gave a strong message to the party leaders and workers.

The party leaders and workers have started coming under one umbrella due to the strong warning of the central leaders and the activities of the mayoral candidate Anwaruzzaman Chowdhury. The nominees also stand in favor of Anwar.

Apart from this, the candidates of Jatiya Party, Islami Andolan Bangladesh and Jamiat Ulamae Islam Bangladesh for the mayoral post continue to campaign and are balancing various equations.

In the end, if Ariful Haque Chowdhury is not a candidate, where will the anti-boat vote go is now a key issue for them. However, Ariful Haque Chowdhury has not yet clarified his position on the election. He is supposed to announce the final decision in a rally on May 20.

Anwaruzzaman Chowdhury was very uncomfortable even after getting the party nomination. Party nominees were avoiding him. Most of the district and metropolitan Awami League office-bearers were also keeping their distance. But Anwaruzzaman Chowdhury was able to break their pride in many ways. At one stage, the city and district Awami League held separate meetings in favor of Anwaruzzaman Chowdhury regarding the city elections.

Except General Secretary of Metropolitan Awami League Professor Zakir Hossain, who is visiting UK, all the leaders who were not nominated attended the meetings and promised to work in the field to make Anwaruzzaman win. However, although the de-nominated leaders promised to work, there was doubt about the Trinamool leaders and workers. Ward-level leaders and workers are worried about how much they will be active in favor of the boat.

Badruddin Ahmad Kamran's defeat in the last election was blamed on the lack of trust and inactivity of the party leaders and workers from the centre. So this time in the case of Anwaruzzaman, so that the result of Kamran is not repeated, the center has taken an initiative in advance. As part of this, district and metropolitan Awami League committees were convened at a convention hall at Arambagh in the city on Thursday night. About a dozen central leaders including presidium member Jahangir Kabir Nanak, organizing secretary Ahmad Hossain were present in that meeting.

In the meeting, the central leaders blamed the 'followers of Khandkar Mushtaq' who had created a rift in the party for the defeat of Badr Uddin Ahmad Kamran last time. Jahangir Kabir Nanak said in the meeting, "Badar Uddin Ahmad Kamran, the guardian (former mayor) of this city had to be defeated because of Mushtaq forces. The party includes followers of Khandaker Moshtaq, as well as Mujib ideology fighters and saviours. Awami League does not want to see the activities of Khandkar Mushtaq's followers this time. Awami League will keep a watchful eye on the polling stations of the president and secretary in each ward of the party. They will be rewarded or punished according to the polling station results.

He said to the top leaders of Sylhet Awami League, "You will not do any activity that will make Rangpur suffer the consequences."

Meanwhile, after last Thursday's workshop, the scenario started to change. According to party sources, the leaders and activists who were internally dissatisfied with the nomination of candidates have now started preparing to enter the field for the victory of the boat. From the statement of the central leaders, they are convinced that if the party candidate does not win this time, they will face organizational punishment. So this time they are entering the field to restore the mayor's chair. Anwaruzzaman Chowdhury said about his preparation and organizational situation, "100% of the party's leaders and workers at all levels are united now. There is no disunity anywhere. Central leaders also came from Dhaka and gave their clear message to the committee. Leaders and workers are working in that light. Apart from this, voters also want change. They do not want to waste the allocation given by the government, but to make good use of it. To answer the irregularities, corruption and looting of the past 10 years, they are eager to vote for the boat, a symbol of development.

Meanwhile, Jatiya Party leader Mahbubur Rahman Chowdhury held a press conference against the decision of the party last Friday, the day after the announcement of the Jatiya Party candidate. He complained in the press conference that Nazrul Islam Babul's name was announced for the post of mayor in the Sylhet City Corporation election without any interview even though party nomination papers were sold. He mentioned that announcement of party candidates without interviews of candidates is unorganized. He sought the intervention of Roshan Ershad, the main sponsor of the party and the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, to reconsider the party's nomination.

Waiting till June 20 for Arif's decision:
Current mayor and BNP central executive member Ariful Haque Chowdhury has not yet clarified his position regarding participation in the Sylhet City Corporation elections. BNP has already announced its decision not to go to any election under the current government. Due to this decision of the party, Arif's candidacy has become a hindrance.

However, Arif said, he has respect for the team's decision. But there is pressure from the common people of the city to be a candidate in the election. But the electoral environment is being destroyed day by day. Leaders and activists are being arrested in Sylhet before the issue of candidacy is cleared. The administration is undergoing a reshuffle. All in all, there is concern about fair elections. All in all, he will hold a rally at the registry ground on June 20 and announce his final decision about the election.

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