Mayoral Polls

Our Correspondent

A 'citizens committee' in Rajshahi city called upon the 14-party alliance Friday to endorse their chosen candidate Khairuzzaman Liton to run for mayor instead of the alliance-backed Fazle Hossain Badshah.

In a press conference at the local election office, the 'Nagorik (or Citizens) Committee' member secretary Syed Shafiqul Alam said people of the city wanted the 14-party alliance to back Liton as mayoral candidate "to beat anti-liberation forces in the city corporation polls".
 
"We are calling upon the central leaders of the 14-party alliance to nominate Khairuzzaman Liton as mayoral candidate for Rajashahi city polls," Shafiqul Alam said.
 
However, the Nagorik Committee president Abul Hossain added that the best thing for the city polls would be if Liton and Badsha could sit together and resolve the problem themselves.
 
The Awami League-led 14-party alliance endorsed four mayoral candidates for the forthcoming city corporation polls on Thursday, only to be met with strong resistance by local AL leaders in Rajshahi city.
 
Leaders of the 14 parties had been in talks for days to finalise their candidate endorsements for the four city corporation elections.
 
Local Awami League leader Khairuzzaman Liton and Workers Party of Bangladesh's Fazle Hossain Badshah had both submitted nominations in Rajshahi, and stuck to their claims of 14-party backing until the alliance announced its support of Badshah.
 
But people of various professions, including teachers, lawyers, businessmen and writers, had already formed the Nagorik Committee on Wednesday, and reached a consensus that Liton should have been backed for the mayoral polls, Shafiqul Alam said.
 
Shafiqul said Liton had a love of the people of the city. His vigorous leadership as coordinator of the 14-party alliance during the 'misrule' of the BNP-led 4-party party alliance government proved was memorable, the citizen committee's member secretary said.
 
The 14-party decision on the nomination failed to reflect the expectations of the people of the city, Alam claimed.
 
At a rally held shortly after the alliance endorsed the four mayoral candidates Thursday, AL's Rajshahi city vice president Rafique Uddin Ahmed said: "The AL central leaders want to destroy the career of a dedicated AL leader, Khairuzzaman Liton, son of the late AHM Kamaruzzaman Hena, by nominating others."
 
After the 14-party alliance announced its decision, Liton told local reporters: "The Nagorik Committee has backed me as its candidate. I have no scope to backtrack. Except for Workers Party all others of the 14-party alliance in Rajshahi are with me."
 
Fazle Hossain Badshah told bdnews24.com: "I think Awami League will solve the problem organisation-wise. I will also personally take the initiative."

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