Focus on agitation, not city polls

The BNP is not considering endorsing any mayoral candidates for the upcoming elections to Dhaka and Chittagong city corporations as the party wants to keep its focus on the ongoing anti-government movement.

It believes the government is holding the long-overdue polls to Dhaka city corporations to divert people's attention from the agitation of the BNP-led 20-party alliance. 

BNP high-ups think their ongoing agitation and international pressure would finally force the Sheikh Hasina-led government to call an early general election under a non-partisan administration.

The alliance is not interested in the city polls because it thinks the movement would lose momentum if any pause is allowed, they said.

“The government with an ill-motive has suddenly decided to hold the city corporation elections. The move is nothing but an attempt to divert attention from our ongoing movement,” BNP Dhaka city unit Convener Mirza Abbas, also a standing committee member of the party, told The Daily Star.

"We don't want to walk into that trap,” he said.

Lt Gen (retd) Mahbubur Rahman, another member of the standing committee, said, “Our main focus is on the ongoing agitation, nothing else.”

The alliance has been enforcing countrywide non-stop blockade since January 6 and nationwide hartals on all working days since February 1 to force the government to call early polls.

Since 2002, the Dhaka city corporation was run by a BNP mayor though the elections to city corporations are non-partisan. Fresh election to the city corporation was due in 2007.

But when the Awami League assumed power in January 2009, it didn't make any move to hold the elections.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on February 16 asked the LGRD ministry to take necessary measures to hold elections to Dhaka North and South city corporations.

The government now also wants to hold elections to Chittagong City Corporation whose tenure will expire in July.

Following the premier's directive on February 16, the LGRD ministry sent a letter to the Election Commission for holding the Dhaka city polls.

The EC is now preparing to hold elections to the three city corporations. 

The ruling AL and opposition Jatiya Party have already endorsed mayoral candidates for Dhaka city corporations.

A number of senior BNP leaders told this correspondent that the government is holding the elections at a time when most of the 20-party alliance men are either in jail or on the run. They are not in a position to take part in the battle of ballots.

A BNP leader, who is staying at the party chief's Gulshan office, said, “Dozens of cases have been filed against our potential candidates in connection with recent killings in arson attacks and incidents of violence. These BNP men are likely to be barred by courts from contesting any elections.”

BNP Vice-Chairman Selima Rahman, however, said they were yet to decide on the issue of the city corporation polls.

“The government wants to hold the elections at its favourable time. It might think it can hold one-sided elections as the BNP-led alliance is now focusing on non-stop anti-government movement.

“But we want to say that the BNP will not let anything go unchallenged,” she told The Daily Star.

The BNP had extended support to its leaders in the elections to Rajshahi, Khulna, Barisal, Sylhet and Gazipur city corporations in June and July 2013. The mayoral candidates backed by the party swept to victory in all the elections.

Several BNP leaders said the situation is different this time, and it would be suicidal for them to suspend the ongoing movement for the city corporation polls.