The ruling party Awami League is analyzing the reasons for the defeat in the Gazipur City Corporation election before the National Parliament elections.
The Election Commission's (EC) strict stance, the cancellation of a councilor candidate's candidacy for violating the code of conduct the night before the polls, and the announcement of the US visa policy on fair elections in Bangladesh are also believed to have influenced the Gazipur vote, election analysts believe.
Eight months before the national elections, Gazipur City polls ended peacefully. There are four more city elections next month. In such a situation, everyone's eyes were on how the voting was done in Gazipur and how the voting environment was.
According to analysts, the message of peaceful polling in Gazipur will influence the remaining four city elections. The confidence of the voters is also returning day by day due to the strict stance of the Election Commission. Voters have started coming to polling stations.
They said, everyone thought Jahangir was not a candidate for the Gazipur polls. His mother Zayeda Khatun will not be able to compete in the field as an independent candidate. But the results of Gazipur polls changed all thoughts.
Independent mayoral candidate Zayeda Khatun has shown surprise in the Gazipur City Corporation elections. The ruling Awami League nominated candidate for the mayor election of the largest city, Advocate Md. He defeated Azmat Ullah Khan by a margin of more than 16 thousand votes.
Experts said that if there is no unity within the Awami League, Gazipur City has given an early warning of the effect it could have on the upcoming parliamentary elections if everyone is not brought to the polling field. Awami League nominated advocate Azmat Ullah, a tried and tested leader. But voters voted for independent candidate Zayda Khatun and supported Jahangir Alam.
This resulted in a clear message as to what kind of person should be nominated in the elections. If such a situation continues, a tough test is waiting for Awami League. BNP will look at the results of this election and determine the calculation of the parliamentary elections.
Reasons for Awami League’s defeat in Gazipur:
Local Awami League leaders said that Azmat Ullah Khan has enough reputation. He always attend in the program of Awami League. But outside the party, he does not show himself much in social activities. Apart from Tongi, he did not roam in other areas of Gazipur. Local people know his name but never saw him before the election.
Apart from this, EC got 17 mayor nominations in Gazipur. The rest of the aspirants are in favor of the ruling party on the face but actually they did not want Azmat Ullah to be the mayor. Because at this stage, if Azmat becomes the mayor, he will be nominated later. And if Azmat Ullah loses, the other nominees will be nominated in the future.
Meanwhile, mayoral candidate Azmat Ullah Khan, in response to reporters' questions about the reason for the defeat in the election, said, "Since I was a party candidate; there are some party matters. I will give my opinion after analyzing and reviewing everything.”
Political analysts think that Awami League was very confident about the Gazipur city vote. Leaders of the ruling party did not count Zayda Khatun. Because of this, there was an absence of the strategy that needs to be taken in the campaign. Individual Azmat Ullah had no vote bank of his own except Tongi.
On the other hand, Jahangir, the leader expelled from Awami League, had a vote bank in the entire city. The votes of the opposition camp also fell on the ballot of Jahangir's mother. Many voted for 'Ammajan' with a boat badge on their chest. Zayeda Khatun also won in the seats where agents could not be given. As BNP boycotted the city elections, they and their allies voted on the symbol of Zayda Khatun.
The biggest issue in Gazipur City Corporation election is the division of Awami League. BNP did not participate in the elections, but Awami League was the opponent of Awami League. A large section of Awami League has betrayed party candidate Azmat Ullah. And for this reason, the internal conflict of Awami League after the election of Gazipur has now become a cause of new thought.
Political analysts believe that if there is such infighting in the next elections, then the same fate awaits Awami League as in Gazipur.
Central and local leaders of Awami League felt that Jahangir could have been a factor if he was in the polling field. But his mother was not taken into consideration at all. On the other hand, all eyes were on Gazipur. The Election Commission was strict. They did not tolerate any kind of irregularity. On the day before the polls, the EC took a strict stand by canceling the candidature of a councilor candidate who had announced that 'no one is allowed to come to the center without voting Nouka'.
@The report was published in Bengali on print and online versions of The Bangladesh Pratidin on May 27 and rewritten in English by Tanvir Raihan
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