Bangladesh News

Candidates of the two electoral alliances are paying more attention to the large number of voters living in the slums and undeveloped areas of Dhaka-17 constituency who outnumber the sophisticated voters in the posh areas.

Eight candidates–of them three retired army men–are contesting the December 29 parliamentary elections in the constituency that consists of cantonment, Gulshan, Kafrul, Pallabi and Tejgaon police stations.

The Awami League-led grand alliance nominated Jatiya Party Chairman Lt Gen (retd) HM Ershad in the seat while BNP Chairperson’s Adviser Brig Gen (retd) Hannan Shah is contesting for the BNP-led four-party alliance and Maj Gen (retd) Syed Muhammad Ibrahim as a candidate of Bangladesh Kalyan Party.

Most voters said the main fight would be between former president Ershad and Hannan Shah.

The number of voters in the constituency is 2,62,155. A large number of them are residents of the slums in Korail of Banani, Manikdi of cantonment and Kalachandpur of Gulshan. Around 23,000 voters live in the Korail slum alone, according to its residents.

Many people with low incomes also live in these areas.

The cantonment and Gulshan areas were earlier under Dhaka-5 constituency.

Talking to the unusual mix of voters in the constituency, it was apparent that the slum dwellers are more enthusiastic about the election compared to those living in posh areas.

Ershad was elected twice from Rangpur in the fifth and sixth parliamentary elections while Hannan Shah, who came in the spotlight after the January 11 changeover, was elected from Gazipur in the 1991 election. Hannan is also known for being vocal against the party chief’s arrest and was himself arrested several times.

There are nine cases against Hannan while 13 cases are under trial against Ershad, who was acquitted in 23 cases. The former president could not participate in the 2001 election as he was convicted in several cases and was serving jail terms.

BNP candidate Maj (retd) Kamrul Islam won the last election from the seat beating previous AL lawmaker AKM Rahmatullah by 44,654 votes.

Talking to The Daily Star, most voters said Ershad has the advantage of being more prominent than the four-party alliance candidate. Ershad’s campaign is also more intensive.

“Although Hannan Shah is a national level leader, I think BNP has made a mistake in choosing him because he is not as popular as Ershad,” said Lihaz Uddin Ahmed, a voter and businessman in Gulshan area. Besides, it seems that Ershad is a bit ahead of Hannan in campaign, he added.

Azizul Islam Jibon, a voter of Banani, thinks people would cast votes for someone who will work for the development of the area. “The country is reeling from several crises, both political and economic, and we want that whoever wins would solve those problems,” he said.

Abdul Halim, a resident of Kachukhet, said Hannan Shah was with the party during tough times and even had to go to jail for protesting the party chief’s arrest, which will add to his image to some extent.

Residents of Korail slum, one of the big slums in the city, told The Daily Star that they would cast their votes for one who would not evict them without ensuring proper rehabilitation.

Elderly resident of the area Mohammad Ilias alleged that the major political parties have used them before the previous elections making a lot of promises, but they did nothing when they came to power.

“The previous lawmaker did not even visit us for a single day although he pledged many things before the 2001 election…We want to live a peaceful life,” he said.