Gazipur, Khulna City Polls: BNP picks 2 new mayoral candidates

The BNP has nominated new faces as mayor candidates in the Khulna and Gazipur city corporation polls, scheduled for May 15.

The party has nominated Nazrul Islam Manju as the candidate in Khulna while Hasanuddin Sarkar in Gazipur.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir disclosed the names yesterday at a press conference at party Chairperson Khaleda Zia's Gulshan office.

The announcement came following an emergency meeting of the party's standing committee at the office.

While the meeting was underway, incumbent Gazipur mayor MA Mannan went there. At one point, he started crying and senior party leaders tried to console him, said meeting sources.

The BNP's nomination board believed Mannan was physically unfit for contesting the polls and Hasanuddin was the right choice.

Although BNP Khulna Division Organising Secretary Nazrul Islam Manju was not ready to contest the polls, the board kept asking him to participate.

Even a top BNP leader called him over phone but he did not pick up, said party sources.

On Sunday night, the party's nomination board, comprising BNP standing committee members, interviewed prospective mayoral candidates for the election. The candidates included the incumbent mayors, Mannan and Moniruzzaman Moni. 

They shortlisted the names and then consulted with the party's acting chairman Tarique Rahman, now in the UK, to finalise the nominations.

On Sunday night, the ruling Awami League nominated Talukder Abdul Khaleque and Jahangir Alam as the party's mayoral candidates in Khulna and Gazipur city corporation polls respectively.