AL firm to retain seat, BNP seeks recoup
REZAUL ISLAM SHAMEEM, Pirojpur
Many of the leaders aspiring for nominations from the AL and Oikyfront to take part in the upcoming 11th national election from Pirojpur have begun informal mass-contacts in a big way. Sources said, the high commands of AL and BNP are looking for promising new faces with a good reputation to contest in the district. It is possible that some new leaders could get nominations in the district, they said, With a large number of aspirants collecting nomination papers of both AL and BNP, the discussion is rife now over who would be nominated in the district by the two major rival parties.
Pirojpur-1 constituency: Pirojpur-1 constituency, considered a stronghold of AL, consists of Pirojpur Sadar, Nazirpur and Nesarabad upazilas and has 4,13,935 total voters including 2,09,049 male and 2,04,941 female. In the last 10 elections in Pirojpur-1, AL candidate freedom fighter late Advocate Enayet Hossain Khan was elected in 1973, late Advocate Sudhangsu Shekhor Halder in 1979 and 1991, and present MP and district AL president AKMA Awal in the 2008 and 2014 elections. The AL lost in1986, 1996 and 2001 as a strong group of Pirojpur district AL was antagonized, said sources. As a result, JP candidate and former minister Mostafa Jamal Haider was elected in the 1986 election and Jamaat-e-Islami leader Delawar Hossain Sayedee got elected in the 1996 and 2001. Saydee was later convicted in a war crimes case and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Seeking Awami League ticket, 15 leaders including incumbent MP and district AL president AKMA Awal, his brother AL vice-president and mayor Habibur Rahman Malek, central AL law secretary advocate SM Rezaul Karim, Sheikh Ani Rahman, Principal Shah Alam have collected party nomination papers.
However, MP Awal, SM Rezaul and Sheikh Ani Rahman are in the main discussion, said sources, adding that it is quite certain that an AL leader and not any alliance partner will get nomination in Pirojpur-1. While mayor Malek, brother of MP Awal, has collected party nomination paper, he has no possibility of getting the nomination as he is the incumbent mayor of Pirojpur, they opined.
Meanwhile, district BNP president Gazi Nuruzzaman Babul, general secretary Alamgir Hossain, vice-president Nazrul Islam Khan, Eliza Zaman, Barrister Sarwar Hossain, Fakrul Alam and Sydul Islam Kismat have collected BNPs nomination papers to contest from Pirojpur-1.
Party sources said that Gazi Nuruzzaman Babul and Alamgir Hossain are lobbying strongly with the BNP high command. Meanwhile, Jatiya Party (Kazi Zafar) Secretary General and former minister Mostafa Jamal Haider also wants nomination in the seat. Some
leaders of the Jatiya Oikkofront said he may be nominated a candidate from this seat. The name of Shameem Bin Sayedee, son of former MP and war crimes convict Jamaat-e-Islami leader Delawar Hossain Sayedee is also being discussed. Shammed said he would contest in the election.
Among the AL aspirant, MP AKMA Awal, Shah Alam Mian, Advocate SM Rezaul Karim, Habibur Rahman Malek and Sheikh Ani Rahman have started their mass-contact programmes.
However, there is talk within and outside the party that MP Awals position is not firm this time, as the people of the area are unhappy with the level of development during the past 5 years. Rival aspirants also claim that there are a host of allegations of irregularities and misuse of power against MP Awal.
Internal feud among party leaders and activists, especially an alleged tussle between the two brothersdistrict AL president MP Awal and vice-president and mayor Habibur Rahman Malekis another problem the AL faces in the constituency, said leaders.
Because of a strong position of AL in the constituency, there is a large number of party nomination-sekeers in Pirojpur-1. However, intense internal feud, if not resolved before the polls, could see the votes get divided and result in a loss for the AL in the upcoming polls, said sources.
While MP Awal controlled the district AL and the entire Pirojpur district at one point, the district AL is now divided into three factions, said party leaders. A large group of leaders and activists of the party are controlled by vice-president Malek while some others follow the present MP Awal. Another big faction of leaders and workers are following Sheikh Ani Rahman, daughter of late MP Enayet Hossain Khan and wife of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahmans cousin Sheikh Hafizur Rahman Tokon, who does not hold any post in the district AL.
When asked about the party position, aspirant Habibur Rahman Malek told this correspondent: After the assassination of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, I organized the district Awami League. Although there was no portfolio in the district AL for many years, my cooperation in all party activities was the highest. Now, the local MP has lost the confidence of the people, party leaders and activists. So, I have again taken the responsibility of the district AL. Malek also claimed that the party would be victorious in the next election if he was nominated.
Meanwhile, another nomination aspirant advocate SM Rezaul Karim said, I have been involved in politics since my student life. Since 1990, I have been working as an executive member of the district AL. I believe that the party will nominate me in the upcoming election.
MP AKM Awal said, During the rule of the BNP-Jamaat, I launched a movement, risking my life. I handed over the seat to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina by snatching it from the anti-liberation elements, the now convicted war criminal Delawar Hossain Sayedee. If I am nominated again, no one will be able to snatch the seat away.
Talking to this correspondent, Sheikh Ani Rahman said, My father Enayet Hossain Khan was the chief organizer of the Liberation War in the region. He worked for the people of this area. I would expect nomination because I want to work for the development of the backward district of Pirojpur.
Though many AL leaders are seeking party nomination, all of them have said that they would work united for the nominated person in the interest of the party. The BNP is going to contest the polls under the banner of the newly formed alliance Jatiya Oikyafront and nomination aspirants have begun mass-contact drives in the district.
Sources said Jamaat-e-Islami, which cannot contest the polls as its registration with the Election Commission as a political party was recently cancelled, has a strong supporter base in Pirojpur as war crimes convict party leader Delwar Hossain Sayedee, now serving a life sentence, was elected MP in 1996 and 2001 due to the disunity among AL factions.
Though the BNP-led government was in power during those two tenures, the local BNP failed to emerge organizationally strong. As such, many BNP leaders and activists harbour a grudge against the Jamaat. Besides, there are internal conflicts within the Pirojpur district BNP, said local BNP leaders.
Shamim Sayedee, son of Delwar Hossain Sayedee, may be willing to contest the election. However, local BNP leaders said if any member of the Sayedee family is nominated from this constituency from the BNP-led alliance, the person is unlikely to get enough support from BNP leaders and activists.
District BNP general secretary Alamgir Hossain said they want a BNP candidate for Pirojpur-1. He also said over 6,000 party leaders and activists had been accused in 126 false cases filed by AL. Many of them were still in jail and many were in hiding. Besides, he alleged, BNP leaders and workers were being regularly harassed by police.
