NCP changes Dhaka city polls strategy; Patwary likely for South, Asif for North
DHAKA, Bangladesh — The National Citizen Party is changing its strategy for the upcoming elections to Dhaka’s two city corporations after failing to reach an electoral understanding with the Jamaat-e-Islami-led 11-party alliance, party sources said.
The NCP has decided to contest the elections independently and is likely to nominate Chief Coordinator Nasiruddin Patwary for Dhaka South City Corporation and spokesperson Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuiyan for Dhaka North City Corporation, according to three senior party leaders.
The party’s political committee made the decision at a meeting Sept. 3, the leaders said. Both Patwary and Asif have since applied to change their voter areas, further fueling speculation about their candidacies.
Asked about the possibility of contesting in Dhaka South, Patwary said, “The possibility is very high. If the people want and the party supports me, I will contest the election.”
The NCP had previously announced Asif Mahmud as its candidate for Dhaka South on March 29. Jamaat-e-Islami later nominated Dhaka University Central Students’ Union Vice-President Abu Sadiq Kayem for the same post on May 1.
A senior NCP leader said Jamaat’s decision to nominate Kayem after the NCP had named Asif prompted the party to consider moving Patwary to the South.
Another NCP leader said Jamaat had indicated that it wanted to contest the city corporation elections independently while remaining open to compromises in other tiers of local government.
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“That is why NCP is bringing Nasiruddin Patwary forward in Dhaka South,” the leader said.
The leader said Patwary has support among a significant section of right-wing voters and that the NCP wants to capitalize on that support in the election. The party is expected to formally announce its candidates soon, the leader added.
Asif Mahmud had previously sought to contest the Dhaka-10 parliamentary constituency as an independent candidate in the last national election. He later joined the NCP, which contested the election as part of the Jamaat-led 11-party alliance.
Party sources said Asif was unable to contest because of the alliance arrangement. With the NCP and Jamaat again failing to reach an agreement over Dhaka South, the NCP decided to move Asif to Dhaka North, the sources said.
Asif declined to comment.
Meanwhile, Jamaat, the NCP and other alliance partners are preparing to contest the local government elections separately to assess their organizational strength, according to party sources.
Alliance leaders said the decision would not affect their broader unity in opposition politics at the national level.
Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Mia Golam Porwar confirmed that the alliance partners had agreed to contest the local government elections independently.
“Accordingly, each partner party will contest the elections on its own. So, each party is completely free to decide whom it wants to nominate as its candidate,” he said.
