Ruling Awami League-led alliance today sought the Election Commission’s hand to stop BNP chief Khaleda Zia from carrying out any subversive activities centring the April 28 city polls that would devastate public life.

The 14-party alliance wrote to Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad asking him to take steps to prevent Khaleda from “reigning terror and anarchy”.

A delegation led by Samyabadi Dal General Secretary Dilip Barua, Workers Party of Bangladesh General Secretary Fazle Hossain Badsha, Shirin Akhtar, standing committee member of Jatiya Samastatrik Dal, and Awami League leader Mrinal Kanti Das, went to the EC office around 10:30am and handed the letter to the CEC.

“We want a free, fair and transparent city corporation polls,” the letter said. “For its sake, we seek EC’s intervention so that Khaleda Zia cannot go for terror, anarchy or any subversive activities.”

Khaleda Zia is engaged in hatching conspiracy to create anarchy and subversive activities in a planned way ahead of the city polls, they said.

To make the efforts a success, she (Khaleda) has brought out motorcade procession illegally in favour of her party blessed candidates violating the electoral code of conduct, 14-party leader said.

“Such activities prove it is a planned way conspiracy to snatch people’s rights to vote freely and to destroy the country’s peaceful democratic atmosphere,” the letter said.

Later, responding to a query, Fazle Hossain Badsha told reporters that the EC has taken a decision to use army as a striking force during the polls.

“Outside this, I don’t think that there is any scope to use the army as a regular force,” Badsha said.