Staff Reporter, Kishoreganj :
There is no boat symbol in the Union Parishad (UP) elections to be held in the fifth phase at Ashtagram and Mithamain Upazilas in Kishoreganj.
At a meeting of the Awami League’s( AL)Local Government Representative Nomination Board at Ganobhaban on Saturday, it was decided not to give Boat symbol in the 15 UP elections of the two upazilas.
According to ruling Awami League(AL) sources, Kishoreganj with 13 upazilas. Ashtagram, Mithamin and Itna of the district are surrounded by these three upazilas. President Md Abdul Hamid elected with the boat symbol from that seat. Abdul Hamid became an MP six times. The seat fell vacant after he became president, and his eldest son, Rezwan Ahmed Tofique , won the by-election. Tofique is currently a three-time MP. In a word, the Awami League’s politics in Haor has been under the sole control of the President’s family since pre-independence times. Ashtagram and Mithamin have 15 UPs in the fifth phase of elections. There are eight unions in Ashtagram and seven in Mithamain. Voting ends on January 5.
Since the announcement of the schedule, an average of 10 candidates have applied in different ways in each union. Except for one or two out of 10 people, almost all of them are Awami League(AL) leaders and workers. They are expecting party nomination again. Everyone started running to get the boat. As a result, the senior leaders of the party fell into misery. Especially since there is more than one qualified candidate in each union and their position on getting the boat is strong, the problem of the leaders, especially the MPs, increases. They understand that it is not possible to give a boat to more than one person. And if so, then the quiet politics of Haor may become turbulent. Rebels will remain in every union. Trying cannot be removed from the competition. This will increase the conflict. Awami League politics will be a big loss. The direct loss will have a negative impact on the President’s family.
The next time it will fall on the neck of Tofique MP. Then it will be difficult to hold the sole control of the team.
Leaders have been searching for a way out of this complication for a week. At one stage, the discussion on holding elections without party symbols became important as a way out. The plan is the choice of the MPs. Subsequently, the discussion intensified on the ground and potential candidates viewed the issue positively.
When contact to Rejowan Ahmed Tofique MP , he told the New Nation that “It is difficult to find a person in Haor who dislikes a boat as a symbol. Everyone’s love and sacrifice for the team is not less. The problem is everyone wants a boat. In this situation one does not want to compress the environment with the boat. That is why the election was planned without a boat.
One party nominee from Kalma UP in Ashtagram, who did not want to be named, said that many are ahead in the field, while in the race to get the party symbol, they are far behind. The decision not to give symbols to anyone benefited the field candidates.
According to the party leaders, even before the announcement of the schedule, at least half a hundred candidates from the two upazilas went home without any contact with the grassroots. And the traffic in Dhaka increased. All those nominees believed that victory was guaranteed as soon as they got the boat. That’s why almost everyone pays more attention to ensuring the symbol.
Ashtagram Upazila Awami League General Secretary Shahidul Islam spoke to know the reason for not allocating the boat symbol. He is the chairman of Upazila Parishad.
