Kazi Zahidul Hasan/ Reza Mahmud :
The Election Commission (EC) yesterday allocated electoral symbols to the candidates, sending all the major political parties to a tough battle for the December 30 general election.
The formal electioneering began immediately after the symbol distribution, said Election Commission’s Joint Secretary SM Asaduzzaman.
Candidates of the major political parties, including Awami League (AL) and BNP, took part in informal campaign by visiting houses of localities in their respective constituencies soon after distribution of electoral symbols, according to our district correspondents.
Independent candidates also followed them.
In Dhaka, heavyweight candidates of AL-led grand alliance and opposition BNP, including Rashed Khan Menon, Mirza Abbas and his wife Afroza Abbas, visited to various areas in their constituencies seeking supports of the voters.
Earlier, both the parties planned to organize large political gatherings across the country as part of the electioneering with enthusiasm and much fanfare.
AL will formally kick off its campaign on Wednesday while BNP and its allies planned to start the campaign from
Sylhet, but they are yet to finalise the schedule.
Ruling Awami League (AL), which has been in power since 2009, won the last election in January 2014 when rival Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) boycotted the election.
AL won more than half of the seats unopposed in the last election, marred by countrywide violence.
Senior AL leaders said, the party is taking part in the ensuing election under the grand alliance aiming to win the polls race for the third consecutive terms.
“We will highlight the success of Bangladesh economy achieved during the tenure of the AL government led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina,” M Faruk Khan, a Presidium Member of AL, told The New Nation.
Bangladesh’s GDP growth has already exceeded 7.0 per cent, making it one of the fastest growing economies in the world.
“Bangladesh has marked a remarkable economic and social development in the last 10 years and it is set to touch another milestone to become a developing country by 2024,” said Faruk Khan, adding, “AL government took mega projects, constructed roads and bridges, improved power generation and provided friendly policies to investors for rapid industrialisation and created employment opportunities.”
He said all these developments were done in line with AL’s vision to make the country “Sonar Bangla (Golden Bangladesh),” as dreamt by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
“Our Prime Minister has been working relentlessly over the last 10 years to make the dream happen. If people vote for AL again, we will do everything to improve livelihood of the people and create necessary jobs for the unemployed youths,” said Faruk Khan.
He, however, expressed the hope that AL led coalition will win the next polls with huge margin as people across the country stays with the party.
Besides, opposition BNP, which opted to contest the ballot this time, has started polls campaigns under enormous pressure as the party Chief Begum Khaleda Zia is behind the bar in two corruption cases.
Even she was declared ineligible to contest in the national election in line with a court order. Khadea’s son Tarique Rahman, who is the second in command in the party, has been living in exile to avoid arrest ultimately sending the party in leadership crisis.
But, BNP hopes to oust Hasina government through ballot revolution if a free and fair election is held after ensuring a level-playing field for all parties.
“BNP will not get destroyed under any circumstance as it is a most popular party in Bangladesh. BNP had faced many obstacles and adverse situations in the past and consolidated its strength again overcoming all adversities. So, this party can’t be eliminated,” Dr Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, a Standing Committee Member of BNP, told The New Nation yesterday.
He also said, BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia is now in jail for vengeance attitude of the AL government. “We seek people’s mandate to free her from jail.”
On the eve of election campaign, BNP’s Senior Joint Secretary General Rizvi Ahmed accused the AL of executing the ‘blueprint’ election designed to prevent the BNP from coming to power. The party is in full election race despite unabated arrest of BNP leaders and activists.
He said these arrests are just to create fear among the people, so that they don’t go to vote to give verdict against the misrule of AL government.
“The government wants to hold a lopsided election to snatch victory of BNP,” said Rizvi.
He said BNP will also highlight misrule, corruption and repressive acts of the AL government during its countrywide campaigns. “People will definitely boycott AL for its misrule.”
Rizvi further said that BNP will restore democracy and establish basic rights of the people if they vote for the party.
The Election Commission has already deployed 600 judicial magistrates and nearly 1,000 executive magistrates to punish the violation of the electoral code of conduct during the campaign.
