The New Nation - Internet Edition

Pankaj Karmakar

The accumulated anger among the Awami League (AL) leaders and activists is intensifying day by day for being discriminated for nomination in the parliamentary polls scheduled for December 29.

A huge number of nomination deprived AL leaders submitted nomination forms as independent candidates and continued to stage demonstrations demanding justice as party's dedicated leaders.

A number of senior AL leaders claimed that the central parliamentary board of the party was awarding nomination to the Jatiya Party (JP) leaders keeping the AL strong candidates aside, where the possibilities of victory are near to nil.

There is another allegation against the JP president HM Ershad that having assured of 50 seats from the AL chief Sheikh Hasina, now he is engaged in nomination business and selling nominations in exchange of huge amount of money.

The AL has to relinquish about 60 seats for its allies for the sake of maintaining the alliance although AL has more than one popular and efficient candidate for each constituency.

According to party sources, the position of the JP in 22 seats of Rangpur region, which is called the Vote Bank of JP, is good. But in other constituencies, there is a slim possibility of achieving good results. That is why the more than 35 disgruntled AL leaders have registered themselves as independent candidates.

Efforts of the policymaking body of the party are on to keep the rebel candidates cool.

According to the recently announced Representation of People Order (RPO), all the political parties have to select candidates on the basis of proposal of the grassroots level leaders. But there are a large number of AL candidates who came out first in different constituencies in the selection of the grassroots level leaders, had not been awarded nominations for unknown reason.

The grassroots level activists and voters have fallen in confusion, as the AL is frequently changing candidates and a number of AL rebel candidates have filed nomination papers as independent candidates.

In Netrokona-1 Jalaluddin Talukdar got the party ticket. Later his candidature was cancelled and Jubo League leader Mustak Ahmed Rony was selected there. In Netrokona-2, Left. Col (Retd) Nur Khan was selected. But he was shorn off and Ashraf Ali Khan got the party ticket. Lastly, AL relinquished the seat for JP leader Fakir Ashraf. In Netrokona-3, AL leader Iftekhar Uddin Pintu has filed nomination as independent candidate where Manjur Kader Qurashi got the party ticket. In Netrokona-4, Shafi Ahmed got the ticket after Rebeka Momin was dropped. None of them have withdrawn their nomination papers.

In Mymensing-7 Ali Reza got the party ticket where another AL leader Ruhul Amin Madani and Abdul Matin filed nomination papers as independent candidates.

In Mymensing-10, Capt (Retd) Giyashuddin Ahmed got the party ticket where AL leader Obidullah Anwar Bulbul and AKM Shabuddin Ahmed filed nominations as independent candidates.

AL central Deputy Office Secretary BM Mozammel Haque got the party ticket for Shariatpur-1. But another AL leader Mobarak Ali Mollah filed nomination.

In Dinajpur-1, Monoranjan Shil Gopal got the party ticket. But AL leader Syed Reza Hossain filed nomination paper as independent candidate. In Dinajpur-4, former diplomat AH Mahmud Ali got the party ticket where another AL leader Mizanur Rahman Manu filed nomination as independent candidate.

The AL leaders and activists in Pirojpur-1 become angry as soon as they heard the name of JP presidium member Mostafa Jalal Haider as the candidate of the grand alliance. AKM Awal, General Secretary of District AL unit filed nomination there.

Hundreds of AL leaders and activists of Bogra-3 on Tuesday staged demonstrations protesting the candidature of Maj Gen (Retd) Golam Mawla. The angry activists also barricaded the Shantahar-Bogra Highway demanding the cancellation of his candidature.

On the same day the followers of SA Akram, nomination aspirants of Narayanganj-5, vandalised the district party office, as Akram did not get nomination of the grand alliance.

There are a number of allegations against the JP leaders who got nominations under the banner of the alliance.

In Nilphamari-1, Hamida Banu Shova got the party ticket. But later JP leader Zafal Iqbal Siddique, reportedly a non-Bengali and not very well known figure in the locality, got the nomination of the grand alliance.

In Rangpur-5, JP leader SM Fakruzzaman got the nomination from the alliance who is allegedly involved in bomb explosion in Mithapukur. AL central treasurer and former state minister HN Ashikur Rahman was left out.

In Jessore-6, JP leader Mawlana Shakhawat Hossain, who contested the parliamentary polls in 1991 with Jamaat-e-Islami ticket, got the nomination from the alliance. According to the local correspondent, he played controversial role during the Liberation War in 1971.

In Nilphamari-3, JP leader Kazi Faruk Kader, son of Muslim League leader Kazi Kader, got the nomination. According to the Sectors Commanders Forum, Kazi Kader was actively opposed freedom of Bangladesh.

In Rangpur-4, an amateur in politics, Asif Sharier, nephew of HM Ershad, got the nomination.

In Kishoreganj-3, JP leader and former deputy minister Mujibul Haque Chunnu, who joined in BNP in 2000, got the nomination.

In Munshiganj-3, JP candidate Advocate Mujibur Rahman, well known as a BNP leader and elected municipality mayor in BNP ticket, got the nomination from the AL-led alliance.

In Manikganj-2, JP leader Abdul Mannan got the nomination but he was a BNP candidate in the postponed January 22 elections.

In Dhaka-7, the aspiring candidate of the alliance JP leader Harun-Or-Rashid on November 27 sat in interview in front of BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia to get nomination from the 4 party alliance. Having failed to succeed there he got nomination as the JP candidate of the alliance.

Talking to the New Nation, AL presidium member Begum Matia Chowdhury said, " It is not unusual to have some dispute in the nomination awarding process, as AL is the largest party of the country. All the disputes regarding nomination will be resolved after December 11, the last date of withdrawal of nominations."

Asked about awarding nomination to some inefficient leaders of JP instead of popular and experienced AL leaders she said, " We have to do many things to maintain the alliance."