Ehsanul Haque Jasim :Though the BNP doubts about fair municipal polls, it is trying hard to win majority seats, overcoming ‘all the obstacles created by the government and the ruling party men’, said party insiders.BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia discussed the issue with members of the standing committee, theparty’s highest policy-making body, on last Thursday. The policymakers suggested their chief different strategies. Two days after the meeting, Khaleda Zia sat with her party’s other senior leaders on Saturday night to work out strategies. Held at BNP Chairperson’s Gulshan office, the meeting began after 8:30 PM and it was continuing till filing of the report at about 10:00 PM. BNP vice-chairmen, chairperson’s advisers, party joint-secretaries general and organising secretaries joined it.In the Thursday’s meeting, the BNP policymakers decided to form a central monitoring cell and seven divisional committees to supervise the municipal polls and assist the party’s candidates to carry out election campaign.The BNP had fielded mayor candidates in 231 municipalities, but nomination papers were found valid in 224 seats. Sources said, the party’s senior leaders are going to take part in the campaign for the mayor candidates from Monday. They will also try to invigorate the party’s disheartened and inactive leaders and activists during the campaign. Expressing hope that BNP will win majority seats if polls are held in fair atmosphere, BNP Acting Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said that the government had resorted to repressive activities in order to win in the elections. The jails are being filled with opposition activists again. The government knows it very well that the ruling party will face a debacle in the polls if BNP men are not suppressed, arrested and intimidated, he added.Addressing a discussion on Saturday, he also said there was no alternative to join the polls, as all the preparations were finalised to identify the BNP as a militant and anti-democratic organisation. The BNP joined the elections in an adverse situation only to restore democracy in the country, he said Association of Engineers Bangladesh (AAB) arranged the discussion on “Municipal Elections 2015: Future of Bangladesh’s Democracy” at the Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU). AAB Acting President Eng ANH Akter Hossain chaired the function. Mirza Fakhrul alleged, their many leaders have been kept away from the election race by intimidating them with arms, while many others have been forced to withdraw their nominations. “We know that the government has a blueprint to win majority seats to show people that the ruling party is the most popular party in the country. We also know that we will be obstructed at every step, arrested and killed. Even then, we are there in the race as we have no alternative,” he said.
