Noman Mosharef :
The Narayanganj City Corporation (NCC) goes to its third election today with fear of violence and rigging. The candidates ended their campaigns officially on Friday night, two days before the polls.
About 5,00,000 voters are expected to cast their votes in the polls to elect a mayor, 27 ward councillors and nine women councillors from the reserved seats in the city that comes into the national spotlight in recent years following the sensational seven murders.
Security has been beefed up across Narayanganj ahead of the voting. More than 5,000 members of the law enforcement agencies have been deployed to ensure peaceful polls while 28 security personnel have been deployed in each voting center.
A total of 26 police units will be on duty as striking force during the elections. Apart from this, there will be 64 mobile teams of the police, as each team will have five members. Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) has deployed its 24 platoon troops.
Though seven candidates are competing for mayor post, the race narrows down to Awami League (AL) candidate and incumbent Mayor Selina Hayat Ivy and the Independent candidate Taimur Alam Khandakar.
Both of them expect to win the ballot battle, which will put one of them at the helm of Narayanganj City for the next five years.
Ivy, a two-time mayor, is confident of her chances of winning re-election despite her inherit dispute with local lawmaker AKM Shamim Osman who has huge influence on the city people and its politics. “I’m confident to win the polls with a big margin if there is no violence on voting day,” Ivy, who is contesting with AL’s “boat” symbol, told journalists on Friday, wrapping up her 18-day campaign.
“Some party insiders have united with outsiders in order to defeat me. They want to foil the election by instigating violence. But the support of the voters has always been with me. They will thwart the plot by voting overwhelmingly in favour of boat. Inshallah, the boat will win 16 January elections by a big margin getting the support of city people,” added Ivy,” the daughter of former Narayanganj Municipal Chairman Ali Ahmed Chunka.
While Ivy is hoping to seal her victory for a third consecutive term in the NCC polls, there was an anti-incumbency sentiment among the minds of voters.
“The anti-incumbency factor poses a big challenge for Ivy’s re-election this time. If the administration ensures free, fair and impartial polls the outcome may go against her,” a resident of the Narayanganj city told The New Nation yesterday on condition of anonymity.
Meanwhile, Independent candidate Taimur Alam Khandaker expressed concern over a possible rigging and violence in today’s election.
Earlier, he raised the allegation of intimidating his supporters by law-enforcement agencies. He alleged that law enforcers were arresting his supporters and raiding their houses.
Taimur also accused the ruling party leaders of trying to influence the election.
“Arrest and harassment of my supporters and activists are still continuing even day before the election. Ten people, including my supporters and activists, were arrested on Friday night. Earlier, 18 people were arrested. Police are arresting BNP leaders and activists in various cases,” Taimur said this at a press conference in his residence on Saturday noon.
“How a fair election would be held if such arrests and harassment continue? If the fair voting environment is ruined in this way, the image of the Prime Minister will be tarnished,” he added.
Taimur, who was removed from BNP’s advisory council Post for defying party orders over his nomination in the Narayanganj city election, however, vowed to remain in the polls race till result.
“Whatever happens, I will be on the field. If I have to face the arrest I will face it. I will continue the election with all risks,” he added.
When asked, he said, “I will win the polls race if the election is held peacefully and impartially,” he added.
The independent candidate also asked the Election Commission, deputy commissioner and superintendent of police to arrange a fair and impartial voting in the city.
“The entire country is watching the NCC polls with keen interest. So far the atmosphere of the election is good. We are quite hopeful the elections will be transparent,” Dr. Nazmul Ahsan Kalimullah, Chairman, National Election Observation Council-Jatiya Nirbachon Porjobekkhon Parishad, (JANIPOP).
The first election of Narayanganj City Corporation was held in 2011, and Awami League’s ‘rebel’ candidate Selina Hayat Ivy won it bagging 65 per cent or 180,048 votes. Her rival, Awami League candidate Shameem Osman got 78,705 votes (28 per cent). In that election BNP withdrew candidature at the last moment.
In the second election held in 2016, Ivy contested as the Awami League candidate, winning the election with 174,602 votes. Her main rival that time was a little-known BNP leader, lawyer Sakhawat Hossain. He bagged 96,700 votes.
In 2011, a total of 70 per cent of the votes had been cast. In 2016 the vote casting was 62 per cent.
