Our Correspondent :
Awami League leaders and activists have been working relentlessly to ensure win for the party’s mayoral candidate Sheikh Abdur Rahman in the Mongla Port municipality polls otherwise considered as a BNP-dominated municipality.
Posters of the mayoral candidate with the boat symbol and festoons are seen all over the municipality.
The candidate and his supporters are visiting homes asking for votes and AL leaders and workers from outside the municipality have also joined them.
The BNP’s nominated mayoral candidate Zulfiqar Ali, who is the incumbent mayor, said that if there is a neutral election and people can go to polling centres, they will vote in favour of him.
“When I took charge, Mongla Port was a debt-ridden municipality. I freed it from the debt. I am working to promote it to first class municipality from a second class one,” he said.
“We have transformed the municipality into a green liveable one with all facilities,” he said.
Expressing frustration over the electoral environment, Zulfiqar alleged that the AL have been barring him from carrying out campaign activities.
“Whenever my leaders and activists or me go somewhere for campaigning Awami League leaders and activists start showdowns on motorcycles and we are are forced to leave the area,” he said adding that several workers were also attacked.
When the election officer and the administration were informed, they did not respond positively. Denying the allegations, AL candidate Sheikh Abdur said, “We believe in fair elections. Neither I nor my workers ever bothered the BNP candidate. The poster of BNP candidate is much more than my poster. All the allegations he has made are false.”
