Gazipur city polls outcome raises heat in Sylhet city polls

After BNP leader and Current Sylhet City Mayor Ariful Haque Chowdhury boycotted the upcoming Sylhet City Corporation election, many took it for granted that Awami League candidate Anwaruzzaman Chowdhury would win it easily.

However, people predicting an easy win for the Awami League candidate had to think again after independent candidate Zaida Khatun defeated Azmat Ullah, a veteran leader of the ruling party, by a large margin in the mayoral election in Gazipur last week.

Following the Gazipur city election, the Awami League's Sylhet city unit shed off their relaxed attitude about the upcoming election, while the other participants in the election have become more inspired.

On condition of anonymity, a leader of Awami League's Sylhet city unit told TBS that they were a bit relaxed after Ariful boycotted the election, but following the Gazipur city polls, they have become more active at the field level as they understood winning the polls would not be easy.

He said a veteran politician like Awami League leader Azmat Ullah's defeat to independent candidate Zaida Khatun has made the ruling party worried as Anwaruzzaman is not even a known face in Sylhet like Azmat Ullah was in Gazipur.

Sources at Awami League said many of the party leaders were disappointed at the decision to nominate Anwaruzzaman, joint secretary of the Awami League's United Kingdom unit, instead of local leaders for the Sylhet city polls.

In support of Anwaruzzaman, Awami League Presidium Member Jahangir Kabir Nanak said in a meeting on 4 May, "Just as there are followers of Khondaker Mostaq in the party, there are also fighters and martyrs of Mujib's ideology. Earlier, Badruddin Ahmed Kamran, the guardian of this city, was defeated due to Mostak's followers. Awami League does not want a repetition of that."

Anwaruzzaman Chowdhury told TBS, "There is no such fear that Awami League would be defeated in Sylhet like it was in Gazipur. Sylhet and Gazipur are different cases. In Sylhet, there is a mass movement in favour of the symbol 'boat'.

"Awami League leaders and activists from all levels are waging a campaign to make the 'boat' symbol victorious. It will be proved once again in the Sylhet City Corporation elections that a united Awami League is never defeated."

He further said those who were making up false stories about EVMs have stopped after the Gazipur city polls. People now know that a group was running a misinformation campaign to confuse them.

Nazrul Islam Babul, Jatiya Party's mayoral candidate in Sylhet city polls, and Islami Andolan Bangladesh's candidate Maulana Mahmudul Hasan have been expressing doubt about the EVMs' effectiveness.

Babul recently sent a statement to the media outlets, accusing the Election Commission of biased behaviour. He threatened to take a tough decision about participating in the election if this situation continues.

However the Gazipur city election's outcome has made him hopeful.

Babul told TBS, "The Gazipur city polls proved that voters are eager to express their opinions at the slightest opportunity. However, an environment like the one in Gazipur has not yet been created in Sylhet. The Awami League candidate in Sylhet is violating the code of conduct every day, but the Election Commission is silent about it."

He said, "After the Gazipur elections, my fear has subsided to some extent, but the uneasiness about EVMs has not completely disappeared, because voters in Sylhet are not familiar with electronic voting machines. They were not given training about using it either.

"If the election is not rigged, there will be a revolution through balloting against the symbol 'boat' in Sylhet, like the one in Gazipur."

Islami Andolan Bangladesh's candidate Maulana Mahmudul Hasan said, "Some people are dreaming of winning the election unopposed, but the people of Gazipur have shown that there is no chance of winning without a contest. Besides, if the people are alert, there will be no opportunity for vote rigging."

Apart from Anwaruzzaman, Babul, and Mahmudul, Zaker Party's candidate Zahirul Alam, and independent candidates Mohammad Abdul Hanif Kutu, and Salah Uddin Rimon will contest the Sylhet mayoral election.