After wining in the Khulna and Gazipur city corporation elections, the ruling Awami League (AL) wants to maintain the victory trend for its party candidates in the upcoming city corporation elections in Rajshahi, Sylhet and Barisal as well.

The Election Commission has fixed July 30 as the polling day for the three city corporations. AL insiders said party high-ups wanted the party’s victory in all the three upcoming city polls.

The party seems confident that no force in the country would be able to defeat it in any election if party leaders and workers remained united.

Besides, people were satisfied with the ongoing development work undertaken by the Sheikh Hasina government and would cast their vote in favour of Nouka (Boat, AL party symbol) in the coming days also, they said.

AL high-ups have already directed the leaders and workers of the three cities to remain united and work for the party-nominated candidates to ensure their victory.

The senior party leaders also urged the grassroots leaders and workers of the three cities to make the party stronger by increasing its popularity at the grassroots level as no party other than the Awami League could change the lot of the people.

Speaking on the issue, AL general secretary Obaidul Quader said, “As the people of the country are satisfied with the ongoing development projects of the present government, they will cast their votes for the Nouka in the coming days. I hope party candidates will secure victory in Rajshahi, Sylhet and Barisal as well.”

He also said the country’s people would not vote for BNP candidates in any election as they (people) wanted development and did not approve of the BNP’s violent programmes in the name of ‘so-called movement.’

When contacted, AL joint general secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif said AL-nominated candidates would win in all elections in the coming days, as people of the country did not want to see the BNP them in any kind of power because BNP practices politics of looting, plundering.

“Why will the people vote for the BNP? The BNP will never fulfil the peoples’ expectation. Whenever, the BNP came to power, they were busy plundering public property. Therefore, I hope people will vote for the Nouka in the coming days including in the upcoming three city corporations elections,” he said.

AL presidium member Lt. Col. (Retd) Muhammad Faruk Khan, said, “Our main strategy is to project the government’s development work before the voters, and this strategy has worked in the Gazipur and Khulna city polls and we have already directed our grassroots leaders to highlight the government’s success stories before the people.”

“Actually people want development and that’s why they are voting for the Nouka, and I hope our party candidates’ victory will continued in the upcoming three city corporation elections,” he said.

Meanwhile, the AL has already selected Rajshahi city Awami League president AHM Khairuzzaman Liton for Rajshahi, Sylhet unit president Badar Uddin Ahmed Kamran for Sylhet, and Barisal city unit’s joint secretary Serniabat Sadek Abdullah for Barisal city corporation elections.

A total of 12 aspirants had collected the nomination forms from the party for running in the mayoral race of the three city corporations.

The elections are very crucial for the ruling Awami League and its arch-rival BNP as the local body polls appear to be an acid test for both camps ahead of the national election.