The mayoral and councillor candidates for the Gazipur City Corporation (GCC) elections are involved in frenzied campaigning as it is scheduled to end by Sunday midnight. They were found busy in distributing leaflets and festoons as well as wooing voters personally to make their final appeals to voters in their respective areas in the city. Most candidates staged big shows by bringing out colourful processions and rallies just before the campaign in their respective areas.

The poll will be held on Tuesday. The voting will start from 8am and continue till 4pm without any break. A total of 11,37,736 voters are expected to cast their vote in the upcoming polls for 57 general ward councillors and 19 reserve women’s seats. Of them, 5,69,935 are male and 5,67,801 are female voters.

The Election Commission has already identified 337 out of total 425 polling stations as vulnerable.

The Election Commission (EC) on Saturday was seen requesting all outsiders to leave the city corporation area by Sunday midnight by making announcements over loud speakers.

After getting their electoral symbols on April 24, all candidates, including mayoral hopefuls, councillors, and the candidates for general and women reserved seats, were whipped into a high-decibel election campaign from early morning till midnight.

As the election to the Gazipur City Corporation is going to be held under the party banner for the first time, the main battle will be between ‘boat’ and ‘sheaf of paddy’, the electoral symbols of the AL and the BNP respectively.

Central leaders of both the AL and the BNP came to

Gazipur on the last leg of the campaign, asking voters to vote in favour of their respective mayoral candidates. All mayoral candidates along with their supporters went on a door-to-door campaign to woo voters and pledged to build a modern city, if elected. The mayoral and councillor candidates opened election offices at important points and intersections as per election rules.

AL nominated mayoral candidate advocate Mohammed Jahangir Alam requested the people of Gazipur to give him a chance to serve the city. He said, I want to make Gazipur a green and clean city. If you cast your valuable vote for symbol Nowka, inshallah, I will give you a modern city.

Jahangir Alam participated in the campaign at Boro Dewra, Mudafa, Badam, Bakrail, Gosolia areas of city’s ward No. 52, 53 and 54. Central and local leaders, activists and supporters also participated along with him. He said the citizens of this city are very aware. So they would vote for their favorite candidates.

Responding to a question by journalists at the Mandal Market in Bara Deora area, the Awami League candidate said, “The people of Gazipur are all aware. There are 386 councillors. Everyone has the right.” He said that BNP candidate was issuing press releases from home. “This will not work.”

Jahangir said, “It is an independent country. There is nothing to fight here. People in Gazipur are living peacefully. Hassan Uddin Sarkar said that people of Gazipur will be crushed. A man like him cannot talk like this. Everyone should talk respectfully. I think everyone in Gazipur is a honorable person. So, we will do everything we need to do to make the election fair. This was also conveyed to my leaders and workers.”

Meanwhile, BNP nominated mayoral candidate Hasan Uddin Sarker said that police were yet to stop harassing and arresting his party leaders and activists from different areas of the city. He said, “My supporters are being harassed in various ways including arrest, intimidation and false cases lodged by police to keep them away from voting. Police harassment continued even after I submitted a few written complaints to the returning officer’s office.” He made this claim while speaking to journalists at his Tongi residence on Saturday. Later, he submitted a complaint to the returning officer. Hasan Sarker claimed that police were attacking every night and arresting the leaders and activists of his party involved in the election.

He claimed that the Gazipur DB police also arrested some of his agents from their residence. “Police are threatening my agents not go to the polling booths. On the other hand, the mayor of the rival boat symbol is preventing us from pasting our posters and publicity material.”

Hasan Sarker participated in the election campaign at Haidarabad, Majukhan, Nondibari, Bindan, Pubail, Vadun, Isali area of the city. Central leaders of the BNP Goyshwar Chandra Roy, Moyazzem Hossain Alam, Dr. Rafikul Islam Batchhu, ex-press club president Showkat Mahmud were present with him. Besides, a 57 team formed by the BNP central committee are working for Hasan Sarker at different wards of the Gazipur city. A total of seven candidates for mayor, 254 for general councillor and 84 candidates from reserved women councillor are contesting in the GCC polls.

The mayoral candidates are Gazipur AL General Secretary Advocate Jahangir Alam, BNP nominated Hasan Uddin Sarkar, Md Ruhul Amin from Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB), Md Jalal Uddin from Bangladesh Islami Front (BIF), Fazlul Haque Minar from Islami Oikkya Jote (IOJ), Md Nasir Uddin of Islami Andolan Bangladesh (IAB) and independent candidate Farid Ahmed.

In the last Gazipur city polls, held on July 6, 2013, Gazipur city unit AL president Azmat Ullah Khan was the AL candidate, who was defeated by the BNP candidate MA Mannan, while Jahangir Alam contested the polls as a rebel candidate.

Earlier, the GCC polls were scheduled to be held on May 15, but the High Court stayed it.

Later, the Appellate Division reviewed the HC order and asked the EC to hold the Gazipur city polls by June 28.