Reaction Over Comilla City Corporation Election Results

‘Divided house’ led to defeat, say AL leaders

Awami League (AL) leaders have blamed intra-party conflicts for its defeat in the much-hyped Comilla City Corporation (CCC) election.
The BNP-nominated candidate, Monirul Haque Sakku, had won the mayoral race for the second straight term by defeating his AL rival, Anjum Sultana Sima, with a margin of 11,085 votes on Thursday. Talking to The Independent yesterday, both central and grassroots leaders of the ruling party claimed that that there was no way to defeat their candidate given the huge development work by the Sheikh Hasina-led government.
If the local leaders of Comilla had worked together, Sima would have won against the “corrupt” BNP leader, Sakku, they said. At the same time, some leaders felt the AL candidate too was at fault. “Sima herself did not maintain good relations with the leaders and workers of the party’s city unit, which also led to her defeat,” said Biplob Hossain, a local AL leader of Comilla.
Biplob also alleged that local party MP AKM Baharuddin Bahar’s and his supporters did not work for Sima in the CCC polls. He claimed that they cast their votes in favour of the “sheaf of paddy” symbol (Sakku’s poll symbol). Even railway minister Mujibul Haque Mujib did not extend any cooperation to the party candidate, he added.
Party insiders claimed Bahar’s reluctance to work for Sima’s win was fallout of his longstanding dispute with the latter’s father and local AL leader, Afzal Khan. A joint convener  of AL’s Comilla South unit, Afzal had topped four other local leaders to win the party’s support in the maiden CCC polls in 2012. Afzal, however, was defeated by Sakku. The insiders claimed that Comilla’s AL leaders had dared to defy party supremo Sheikh Hasina’s directive to work together to
ensure Sima’s victory. Hasina had issued the whip after nominating Sima as the party candidate for the CCC polls.
Even a day before the polls, AL general secretary Obaidul Quader had told party leaders that Bahar was not working for the party candidate’s victory. “I have called Bahar several times to cooperate with Sima, but he did not heed my words,” Quader had said.
At a programme in Gazipur yesterday, Quader said the grassroots leaders and workers in Comilla were not united in contrast to the party unity during the Narayanganj City Corporation (NCC) polls.
AL joint general secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif also admitted to intra-party feuds in Comilla for Sima’s defeat.
““We have asked our organising secretary for the district to collect information on the internal conflicts and find out who was responsible for Sima’s defeat.
Action will be taken against the party men responsible in line with the AL charter,” he said at a city programme yesterday.
Meanwhile, returning officer Rakibuddin Mandal yesterday officially declared Sakku as the Comilla mayor. After the announcement, Sakku told reporters that he would work along with everyone, irrespective of party affiliations, for making Comilla a modern city.
On her part, Sima congratulated Sakku on his win. “The city residents have elected a person whom
they considered as the right and qualified candidate,” she said.
She also expressed willingness to work alongside the newly-elected mayor for the development of Comilla city.
Asked whether the conflict in local AL unit was responsible for her defeat, Sima said, “The party’s central leaders will find out the causes.”

 

Reaction Over Comilla City Corporation Election Results

Divided house led to defeat, say AL leaders

Awami League (AL) leaders have blamed intra-party conflicts for its defeat in the much-hyped Comilla City Corporation (CCC) election. The BNP-nominated candidate, Monirul Haque Sakku, had won the mayoral race for the second straight term by defeating his AL rival, Anjum Sultana Sima, with a margin of 11,085 votes on Thursday. Talking to The Independent yesterday, both central and grassroots leaders of the ruling party claimed that that there was no way to defeat their candidate given the huge development work by the Sheikh Hasina-led government. If the local leaders of Comilla had worked together, Sima would have won against the corrupt BNP leader, Sakku, they said. At the same time, some leaders felt the AL candidate too was at fault. Sima herself did not maintain good relations with the leaders and workers of the partys city unit, which also led to her defeat, said Biplob Hossain, a local AL leader of Comilla. Biplob also alleged that local party MP AKM Baharuddin Bahars and his supporters did not work for Sima in the CCC polls. He claimed that they cast their votes in favour of the sheaf of paddy symbol (Sakkus poll symbol). Even railway minister Mujibul Haque Mujib did not extend any cooperation to the party candidate, he added. Party insiders claimed Bahars reluctance to work for Simas win was fallout of his longstanding dispute with the latters father and local AL leader, Afzal Khan. A joint convener of ALs Comilla South unit, Afzal had topped four other local leaders to win the partys support in the maiden CCC polls in 2012. Afzal, however, was defeated by Sakku. The insiders claimed that Comillas AL leaders had dared to defy party supremo Sheikh Hasinas directive to work together to ensure Simas victory. Hasina had issued the whip after nominating Sima as the party candidate for the CCC polls. Even a day before the polls, AL general secretary Obaidul Quader had told party leaders that Bahar was not working for the party candidates victory. I have called Bahar several times to cooperate with Sima, but he did not heed my words, Quader had said. At a programme in Gazipur yesterday, Quader said the grassroots leaders and workers in Comilla were not united in contrast to the party unity during the Narayanganj City Corporation (NCC) polls. AL joint general secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif also admitted to intra-party feuds in Comilla for Simas defeat. We have asked our organising secretary for the district to collect information on the internal conflicts and find out who was responsible for Simas defeat. Action will be taken against the party men responsible in line with the AL charter, he said at a city programme yesterday. Meanwhile, returning officer Rakibuddin Mandal yesterday officially declared Sakku as the Comilla mayor. After the announcement, Sakku told reporters that he would work along with everyone, irrespective of party affiliations, for making Comilla a modern city. On her part, Sima congratulated Sakku on his win. The city residents have elected a person whom they considered as the right and qualified candidate, she said. She also expressed willingness to work alongside the newly-elected mayor for the development of Comilla city. Asked whether the conflict in local AL unit was responsible for her defeat, Sima said, The partys central leaders will find out the causes.