Bangladesh News

The grassroots of major political parties including Awami League and Jatiya Party have started gearing up to run in the upazila elections in October while their organisations are still opposed to any polls before the national election.

In the last few days, a number of local AL and JP leaders have met the party high commands and said they want to take part in the local body polls planned to be held under the state of emergency.

Sources said a section of the BNP grassroots too is preparing for the upazila polls on signals from some senior leaders.

Many of AL and JP leaders who live in the capital but plan to vie for upazila parishads have already started visiting their areas to lay groundwork for their bid.

Local leaders of both the parties are keeping in touch with those in charge of divisional politics in AL and JP.

“Whatever the party should decide, I think most of our grassroots level leaders will participate in the polls,” an organising secretary of AL told The Daily Star.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, he said many of them have told him that they would stand in the polls.

Another organising secretary said if the party opts to boycott the polls there would be serious discontent among the rank and file which might have a negative impact on the organisation’s preparations for the national polls.

Talking to The Daily Star yesterday, JP Presidium member Ziauddin Ahmed Bablu said, “We have already talked to around 60 leaders from different upazilas to know what they think about the local polls. We will seek everyone’s opinion in phases.”

He said the final decision on the issue will be taken in coordination with AL.

District leaders of AL meantime are confused about what would be their role if upazila-level leaders go to the polls. They are waiting for the central committee’s instructions in this regard, said insiders.

AL Central Working Committee at its last meeting on July 30 did not take any decision regarding the local polls. Instead, it decided to act according to how things develop. However, the party would keep trying to persuade the government and the Election Commission (EC) to hold the national election first.

“We have preparations for the polls, and at the same time we are ready to resist the elections if the party wants,” Asgar Ali, general secretary of Kushtia district AL, told The Daily Star.

AL yesterday said it is the constitutional obligation of the caretaker administration to hold the general election before everything else.

Addressing a discussion in the city, AL presidium member Abdur Razzak urged the government and EC to scrap the plans for upazila polls in October, and said their party would hold those polls if voted to power.

Another presidium member Tofail Ahmed likened the move to hold the polls before parliamentary election to an “attempt towards depoliticisation of politics”.

The programme was organised by Awami Swechchhasebak League at the party headquarters on Bangabandhu Avenue to mark the 78th birth anniversary of Fazilatunnesa Mujib, wife of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.