Ehsanul Haque Jasim :Although the BNP has been expressing doubts about fairness of the upcoming municipal polls, it has also been giving hints of taking part in the polls with the party symbol. Talking to several leaders and activists, it has been gathered that the BNP, which had boycotted last year’s Parliamentary polls, might take part in the civic body polls. It may be mentioned that the BNP opposed the move to hold the poura polls on party-basis, saying that the government was planning to hold the local body polls with party symbols in an attempt to keep the opposition parties out of politics and election.Now the BNP high command may come up with a positive decision in this regard in a bid to keep the morale of the party men high, said the party leaders and activists. BNP standing committee member Barrister Moudud Ahmed earlier said that they wouldn’t leave the field for the ruling party without challenge. He said that the party leaders were waiting for Khaleda Zia’s return. The BNP chief sat with her party’s standing committee members and other senior leaders on Wednesday at her Gulshan office and discussed about the municipal polls as well as the overall political scenario in the country. The meeting was continuing till filing of the report at about 10:00 pm.The Election Commission on Tuesday announced the polls schedule for 234 municipalities fixing December 30 the voting date. This election will be the first battle of ballots under party-basis between the two major political parties since the 2008 Parliamentary election. Leaders of political parties will vie for mayor posts in the municipalities with party symbols. In a reaction to the announcement of the polls schedule, BNP standing committee member Brig Gen (retd) ASM Hannan Shah said, “The government has hurriedly announced the schedule for municipal polls. We are in doubt whether the elections will be fair under party banner.” Referring to irregularities of recent other local body polls, he said that the administration was seen siding with ruling party-backed candidates in the past though those were non-partisan ones. “This time the ruling party will directly nominate their candidates. That is why, the administration will be involved with irregularities more than past,” the BNP leader said.The party’s another standing committee member Lt General (retd) Mahbubur Rahman said that the BNP being a pro-election party would take part in all elections, including the national polls. In the last municipal elections held between December in 2010 and January in 2011, the BNP-backed candidates performed better than Awami League candidates. BNP-backed candidates won 92 mayor posts while the AL-backed candidates got 88. In the 2013 city corporation polls, BNP secured all five mayor posts in Rajshahi, Khulna, Barisal, Sylhet and Gazipur.The BNP has bitter experience of city corporation elections. Almost all the BNP-backed city have either been dismissed or suspended by the government, while several of them have been implicated in murder cases and taken to the jail.The party blamed the administration and the Election Commission for preventing free and fair elections in the Dhaka and the Chittagong city corporation elections held on April 28 last year.Even after the bitter experience, many BNP leaders want to contest the municipal polls. Central BNP has given green signal to them. A BNP leader of Sylhet said that he would take part in the upcoming Kanaighat (Sylhet) municipality polls although he can’t visit his locality for fear of police arrest and harassment. “I have got green signal from the party to contest the polls,” he said. saying that the government was planning to hold the local body polls with party symbols in an attempt to keep the opposition parties out of politics and election.Now the BNP high command may come up with a positive decision in this regard in a bid to keep the morale of the party men high, said the party leaders and activists. BNP standing committee member Barrister Moudud Ahmed earlier said that they wouldn’t leave the field for the ruling party without challenge. He said that the party leaders were waiting for Khaleda Zia’s return. The BNP chief sat with her party’s standing committee members and other senior leaders on Wednesday at her Gulshan office and discussed about the municipal polls as well as the overall political scenario in the country. The meeting was continuing till filing of the report at about 10:00 pm.The Election Commission on Tuesday announced the polls schedule for 234 municipalities fixing December 30 the voting date. This election will be the first battle of ballots under party-basis between the two major political parties since the 2008 Parliamentary election. Leaders of political parties will vie for mayor posts in the municipalities with party symbols. In a reaction to the announcement of the polls schedule, BNP standing committee member Brig Gen (retd) ASM Hannan Shah said, “The government has hurriedly announced the schedule for municipal polls. We are in doubt whether the elections will be fair under party banner.” Referring to irregularities of recent other local body polls, he said that the administration was seen siding with ruling party-backed candidates in the past though those were non-partisan ones. “This time the ruling party will directly nominate their candidates. That is why, the administration will be involved with irregularities more than past,” the BNP leader said.The party’s another standing committee member Lt General (retd) Mahbubur Rahman said that the BNP being a pro-election party would take part in all elections, including the national polls. In the last municipal elections held between December in 2010 and January in 2011, the BNP-backed candidates performed better than Awami League candidates. BNP-backed candidates won 92 mayor posts while the AL-backed candidates got 88. In the 2013 city corporation polls, BNP secured all five mayor posts in Rajshahi, Khulna, Barisal, Sylhet and Gazipur.The BNP has bitter experience of city corporation elections. Almost all the BNP-backed city have either been dismissed or suspended by the government, while several of them have been implicated in murder cases and taken to the jail.The party blamed the administration and the Election Commission for preventing free and fair elections in the Dhaka and the Chittagong city corporation elections held on April 28 last year.Even after the bitter experience, many BNP leaders want to contest the municipal polls. Central BNP has given green signal to them. A BNP leader of Sylhet said that he would take part in the upcoming Kanaighat (Sylhet) municipality polls although he can’t visit his locality for fear of police arrest and harassment. “I have got green signal from the party to contest the polls,” he said.
