With electioneering for the Narayanganj City Corporation (NCC) polls scheduled to end on December 20 midnight, it is a busy time for the candidates, knocking on the doors of voters and seeking votes with attractive promises. It is particularly so for the two main mayoral contestants—the Awami League’s (AL’s) Selina Hayat Ivy and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s (BNP’s) Shakhawat Hossain Khan—as they rush around the city ahead of election day on December 22.
According to our local correspondent, outgoing mayor Ivy started her campaign around 9am yesterday by visiting Khanpur Bazaar area of Ward 11. There, she demanded the transfer of Mohammad Sarafat Ullah, the acting OC of Siddhirganj police station, for his alleged controversial acts.
The AL candidate reiterated that she did not want any favour from the party or the government because she believed that if the polls were held in a free, fair and credible manner, she would secure victory in the mayoral race. At the same time, Ivy urged the Election Commission (EC) to play a strong role on voting day. On his part, the BNP candidate accused Ivy of establishing supremacy in the city during electioneering. Shakhawat also demanded Army deployment for the polls to ensure that the people could vote without intimidation. This is the first time that the NCC polls are going to be held on party lines, adding to the pre-election political posturing by the different candidates. Over 4.79 lakh voters are expected to cast their ballots to elect a city mayor, 27 ward councillors and nine women councillors (reserved seats). In the last mayoral election in 2011, Ivy had contested as an Independent and won against AL-backed Shamim Osman by around 1 lakh votes. The BNP-backed candidate, Khandaker Taimur Alam, had withdrawn at the eleventh hour.