With barely two days left for the Gazipur city polls, voters are debating on whom will Lady Luck shine — Azmat Ullah Khan or MA Mannan?
Awami League-led 14-Party alliance-supported Azmat Ullah Khan is locked in what seems to be tough contest with BNP-led 18-Party alliance-backed MA Mannan to become Gazipur’s first Mayor.
The Awami League has grounded a rebel candidate, Jehangir Alam , who has withdrawn from the contest after Prime Minister Shiekh Hasina’s intervention.
He is now campaigning for Azmat, though his late withdrawl means his name remains on the ballot paper.
But the Awami league is quick to quash speculations in its vote bank.
The Gazipur polls are critical for the ruling party after its candidates suffered huge defeats in last month’s city polls in Barisal, Khulna, Rajshahi and Sylhet.
“Azmat Ullah is a good man, everyone here likes him. But there are national issues which will benefit Mannan,” said lawyer Sajib Ahmed, while analysing the outcome of the Gazipur city polls.
Unlike Ahmed, 65-year old ‘Shariful’ however has no doubt as to who will have the last laugh. “Mannan is on strong ground in Gazipur. He will win,” the sexagenarian from Jorpukur area said confidently.
He says he settled in Gazipur 45 years ago from Brahmanbaria.
He gave four reasons what made him confident of Mannan’s victory.
* Government’s opposition to Hifazat-e Islam, he thinks, has gone down well with the religious devouts
* Public dissatisfaction’s over Awami League rule is rising
* Some Jatiya Party leaders are backing BNP-supported Mannan and not the Awami League-supported Azmat
* The ‘drama’ involving Jahangir Alam’s filing nominations and then withdrawing
“No doubt Azmat Ullah is a good man. But people will this time not vote for an individual, they will vote for a party,” Shariful added.
The opposition alliance is using the Hifazat-e Islam issue to steer public sentiment on their favour.
Hifazat supporters too were campaigning against the Awami League candidate.
bdnews24.com talked to several people in Gazipur which was recently upgraded.
Those pinning their hope on Mannan were invariably raising the Hifazat issue as a key factor in what they feel will end in Azmat Ullah’s imminent defeat.
But not that everyone in the city are blowing up the Hifazat factor.
“They (Hifazat) speak about religion. But is Mannan a religious man?” Konabari businessman Firoz Hossain, asks.
He then levels serious allegations against Mannan. “He embezzled Hajj money. No religious person can vote or ask anyone to vote for him.”
Azmat Ullah Khan on his part too is also lagging behind in whipping up religious passions to secure votes.
He is trying to exploit the issue of Mannan’s embezzlement of Hajj funds.
His supporters were seen raising this issue everywhere — in tea shops, footpaths, in public meetings and group discussions.
Though Mannan is busy explaining his innocence, many believe this one factor could be his Achilles’ heel.
Sadhan Chandra Biswas is one such voter who thinks Azmat Ullah has an edge because “Mannan faces allegations of embezzling Hajj money against him.”
“No religious persons will vote for him.”
For the past few days, after he stepped aside from the race, former Chhatra League leader Jahangir Alam was campaigning for Azmat Ullah. That sets to rest, atleast on the face of it, any split in the Awami league votebank.
Apart from the Hifazat factor and the propoganda that hundreds of them were killed in Dhaka during the Motijheel rally, other national issues or the allegations of embezzlement of Hajj money against Mannan , there are some other issues that might also influence the voters.
“Mannan is leading because the Gazipur BNP unit have resolved their differences and is working together as a team,” Pubail Bazar businessman Abdul Hannan said.
“Mannan won 1991 elections by a huge margin. It seems this time there is a similar wave in his favour.”
After becoming the State Minister in 1991, Mannan got entangled in the Hajj fund scam and lost the 1996 elections. He also got involved in internal feuds in BNP’s local unit.
Mannan was also expelled from the party for taking part in the 2001 National Election against BNP’s official nominee Hasan Uddin Sarkar.
He lost the by-polls in 2004 and 2008 parliamentary elections.
Despite his defeats in four consecutive national polls, Mannan supporters are hoping for a turnaround of his fortune as the entire party unit is backing him this time.
Even, Hasan Uddin Sarkar and Fazlul Haque Milon are directly campaigning for him setting aside their long-time political differences with Mannan.
Mezbah Uddin Sarkar, who claimed to be a former Juba Dal leader and present leader of Muktijoddha Prajanma Dal, is also in the fray for Mayoral post with his electoral symbol ‘duck’. Many say he might be a factor in dividing the BNP vote.
Azmat Ullah Khan is claiming that the opposition had several candidates running for Mayor.
Meanwhile, Mosharraf Hossain, a resident of the city’s Shimultoli, says Azmat will take huge lead in the old Gazipur Municipality, Tongi Municipality and Gacha Union and that will ensure his overall victory.
“Awami League has been winning in most of the areas in Gazipur. So it won’t be a problem for Azmat Ullah.”
The newly formed Gazipur City Corporation has 1,026,000 voters in two municipalities and six Unions. Of them, old Gazipur Municipality, Tongi Municipality and Gacha Union have nearly 60 percent of the votes.
Azmat Ullah Khan was the Tongi Municipality Mayor for 17 consecutive years.
AKM Mozammel was also the Mayor of Gazipur Municipality for a long time, until he was elected MP in the last general elections.
The Acting Mayor has been running the Gazipur Municipality since then.
Also, all Chairmen in Gacha Union since 1988 are Awami League candidates. Awami League supporters are depending on these three areas to win the Gazipur polls.
However, the ruling party are also hopeful of taking leads in the areas of now abolished Pubail Union. Late Awami League leader Ahsan Ullah Master was the former Chairman of the Union, which has nearly 5 percent of the total votes. The veteran workers’ leader and popular politician was killed in 2004 and still is remembered as a great leader.
It is believed that nearly 62 percent of the Gazipur citizens are migrants from other districts. More than 30 percent voters are workers.
Meanwhile, MA Mannan claimed that the ready-made garment workers will not vote for Azmat Ullah as they are frustrated with the government.
But JaSaD leader and trade unionist Shirin Aktar, who has been campaigning for Azmat among the garment workers for the last few days, differs
“The government hiked the wages of the workers twice and did much else for them. That’s why the workers will vote for Azmat Ullah. He is a good man.”
The Awami League will desperately hope Shirin’s optimism comes true.
Source: UNBConnect