AL mayoral candidates are enough for polls campaign: Quader

Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader today said the party’s two ‘clean-imaged mayoral candidates’ Barrister Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh and Atiqul Islam are enough to conduct election campaign and face BNP candidates in the upcoming Dhaka city polls.

“Awami League leaders and workers did not violate electoral code of conduct in the city elections. We will conduct election campaign abiding by the code of conduct,” he told a press conference after a secretariat meeting of the party at AL president’s Dhanmondi political office here.

Quader, also Road Transport and Bridges Minister, said BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir is spreading misleading information about AL’s election campaign.

AL Joint General Secretaries Mahbub-ul Alam Hanif, Information Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud and AFM Bahauddin Nasim, Organizing Secretaries Ahmed Hossain, BM Mozammel Haque, Mirza Azam, Advocate Afjal Hossain, SM Kamal Hossain and Sakhawat Hossain Shafiq, Publicity and Publication Secretary Abdus Sobhan Golap, Office Secretary Barrister Biplab Barua, Agriculture Affairs Secretary Faridunnahar Laily, Science and Technology Affairs Secretary Engineer Abdus Sabur, Information and Research Secretary Dr Selim Mahmud, Women Affairs Secretary Meher Afroz Chumki, Legal Affairs Secretary Kazi Najibullah Hiru and Deputy Office Secretary Sayem Khan were present on the occasion, among others.

The AL general secretary said 45 lakh winter clothes and Taka 3 crore have so far been distributed among cold-hit people in different areas in the country.

AL Joint General Secretary and Information Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud led a team of the party to distribute winter clothes among cold-hit people in different areas in Chattogram.

Several other teams of AL also distributed warm clothes in the northern districts.

Asked about making AL Advisory Council Members Amir Hossain Amu and Tofail Ahmed as chief coordinators for the party’s election campaigns in DSCC and DNCC respectively, Quader said AL can form committee for steering the election but they are not going outside for election campaign.

“Our MPs will not violate electoral code of conduct,” he added.

About Fakhrul’s comment that the AL government cannot win hearts of people by observing ‘Mujib Year’, the AL general secretary said: “If it is not possible for us to win hearts, then will it be possible (for BNP) to win hearts by celebrating fake birthday (of Begum Khaleda Zia)?”

Quader said councils of 29 organizational districts of the party were held before the national council of AL.

AL President and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina gave directives to hold councils of rest of the districts by March 6 next, he added.

The AL general secretary said the new central working committee and advisory council of AL will pay homage to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman by placing wreaths at his mausoleum at Tungipara in Gopalganj on January 18.

A joint meeting of the AL central committee and advisory council will be held at Tungipara as per the party’s tradition.