Gazipur Correspondent: The Gazipur City Corporation election campaign battle is over. I’m waiting to see the ballot fight now. Voting will continue continuously from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday. There are eight mayoral candidates in the country’s largest city corporation in terms of voters and size.
Among them are Azmat Ullah of the ruling Awami League, MM Niaz Uddin of the Jatiya Party, Gazi Ataur Rahman of the Islamic Movement, Raju Ahmed of the Zaker Party, and Atiqul Islam of the People’s Front. Besides, there are three independent mayoral candidates: Sarkar Shahanur Islam, Zayda Khatun, and Haroon Or Rashid. Zayeda Khatun, the mother of ex-mayor Jahangir Alam, who was expelled from the Awami League, has provided some food for discussion in this election without the BNP. That’s why everyone’s eyes are on the Gazipur City Corporation elections.
Mayoral and councilor candidates had a busy day yesterday in showdowns and last-minute campaigning. In particular, the main four contenders for the post of mayor are Azmat Ulla Khan of Boat and the mother of ex-mayor Jahangir Alam, who was expelled from the Awami League; independent candidate Zayda Khatun with a table clock; Niaz Uddin with a plow; Ataur Rahman of Hatpakha; and independent candidate of the BNP genre Sarkar Shahnur Islam Roni with an elephant mark. From early morning until late at night, he went door to door, asking for votes. On the other hand, the party leaders and workers have also divided into groups and rushed to the important places where there has been relatively less campaigning. Central leaders have also rushed to Gazipur to campaign for the party candidate. They ran from one end of Gazipur to the other, participating in the campaign for the candidates of their respective parties. Candidates, leaders, and their supporters seem to have forgotten to eat and drink in the busyness of the last-minute campaign. Apart from this, the campaign is also going on in parallel through social media.
Various areas of Tongi and Joydevpur have seen the election mood everywhere. The streets are filled with the sounds of non-stop campaigning on behalf of mayoral and councilor candidates on the mic. The streets and alleys of the city are covered with posters. 425 polling stations can be easily identified by looking at the posters. Posters of mayoral and councilor candidates are scattered in front of every polling station. The leaflets distributed by the candidates and their workers are also reaching the hands of the voters. All in all, there was a festive atmosphere everywhere in Gazipur. Candidates, voters, and supporters of the candidates are busy analyzing the results after the campaign.
Meanwhile, Awami League candidate Azmat Ulla Khan campaigned at his home on Madhumit Road and nearby areas yesterday afternoon. He prayed for votes in a boat. He said that, taking the election as a challenge, the spontaneous response of the people has created a festive atmosphere.
At this time, a large number of ordinary people joined the road meeting along with the leaders and activists. At this time, the whole area became full of slogans in favor of the boat. On the other hand, Zayda Khatun also announced the election manifesto yesterday. He was busy campaigning in his home area of Hurricane. At that time, he said that the Election Commission was not taking any action regarding the arrest, mass arrest, or intimidation of party leaders. He demanded protection of a fair polling environment.
The Election Commission has made all preparations to organize fair and peaceful polls. About 10,000 members of various law and order forces are being deployed to make the election peaceful. The BGB has been patrolling different parts of the city since late last night. Election Commissioner Alamgir Hossain has warned of strict action in the event of any irregularities in the voting.
Gazipur City Election Returning Officer Faridul Islam said that all types of election campaigns have been banned since Tuesday night. The administration is keeping strict vigil to maintain law and order. He expressed hope that polling would be held in a fair and peaceful environment. He said that police, RAB, BGB, Ansar, and around 10,000 security personnel will be in the field from Wednesday, the day before the Gazipur City Corporation election. Among them, there will be 74 magistrates and judicial magistrates in 57 wards. 30 teams of RAB, 13 platoons of BGBiri, 19 platoons of the police striking force, and 57 mobile teams will be in charge of election security. Apart from this, there will be 17 members of the law and order force in important centers and 16 members in general centers. The total number of voters in this election is 11 lakh, 79 thousand, 476. 480 polling stations, 3497 polling stations Presiding 480 people, assistant presiding officer 3497 people There will be 10 thousand 71 polling officers, including polling. All election equipment, including EVMs and ballot boxes, will be sent to the polling stations by Wednesday afternoon. A total of 8 mayoral candidates, 247 general councilors, and 79 reserved women councilors are contesting this election.
District administration ban on traffic: The district administration has banned traffic on the occasion of the Gazipur City Corporation election. In a press release signed by the Deputy Commissioner yesterday, it is stated that from May 23 at 12:00 pm to May 25 at 12:00 pm in the constituency of Gazipur City (excluding highways), baby taxis, CNG-powered auto-rickshaws, taxicabs, microbuses, jeeps, pickup vans, buses, trucks, tempos, easy bikes, and Prohibition has been imposed on the movement of all types of vehicles, including launches, engine boats, and speedboats, on waterways. Besides, a ban has been issued on the movement of motorcycles from 12:00 PM on May 24 until 6:00 AM on May 26, the next day of polling. However, observers authorized by the Returning Officer include journalists engaged in news gathering, election officials, law enforcement officers, election commission observers, contesting candidates, election agents, and some emergency services such as ambulances, fire services, electricity, gas, and postal telecommunications. And this ban will not apply in the case of vehicle movement for other urgent needs, including delivery of emergency goods, or in the case of vehicles plying on national highways.
