Narayanganj City Mayor Selina Hayat Ivy campaigned for ruling coalition-backed candidate Azmat Ullah Khan in Gazipur on Tuesday.
A huge crowd had gathered around her in the Konabari College Gate area.
But Ivy was not alone on the Gazipur campaign trail. Other senior ruling coalition leaders also campaigned for their chosen candidate.
MA Mannan backed by the 18-party alliance also got similar patronage from his leaders.
Cultural workers, women leaders, workers’ leaders, religious chiefs and Ganajagaran Mancha supporters were all there in what appeared to be a meeting ground for politicians and public representatives.
Ivy, who was elected Narayanganj Mayor some two years back without her party’s support, had chosen the Konabari area, home to a few thousand garment workers.
She told bdnews24.com while campaigning for Azmat Ullah that her father was a workers’ leader. “They (the workers) are my brethrens, I represent them. That is why I have come here to see them.”
“I am liking it here. I told the workers about Azmat Ullah. He is a man of good qualities. He has leadership capabilities and is a good man overall. I have come here to speak of Azmat Bhai,” she said.
The Gazipur City Corporation polls have become important to the top political parties of both camps after the sweeping victory of opposition-backed candidates in the Jun 15 city corporation elections in Rajshahi, Khulna, Barisal and Sylhet.
Gazipur is big considering the number of votes. There are more than one million voters. On the other hand, the other four cities had a combined population of 1.2 million.
So, the city poll might serve as a popularity ‘scale’ ahead of the national elections, Gazipur Women’s College teacher Farid Ahmed said.
“Though it is a local election, it is expected to greatly influence the next parliamentary polls,” he told bdnews24.com. “That’s why this is a very important election.”
Migrants make up almost 62 percent of Gazipur city’s population, said Farid Ahmed, a researcher on migrant population.
So mayoral candidates and politicians are eyeing this population, he said.
Source: Bd news24
