NCP to contest local govt polls alone, Asif in Dhaka North, Patwary in South

The National Citizen Party (NCP) is preparing to field candidates independently in city corporation and other local government elections as the party will not form an alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami in the upcoming elections.

It has already finalised mayoral candidates for five city corporations, including Dhaka North and Dhaka South.

NCP spokesperson Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain will contest in the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) mayoral election. The party’s chief coordinator, Nasiruddin Patwary, will contest in Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC). The party will formally announce their candidacies later.

According to NCP sources, at a recent preparatory meeting for the 11-party alliance’s Dhaka-Chattogram long march, the alliance partners agreed to contest local government elections separately rather than jointly. Subsequently, the NCP’s political council meeting decided to revise its list of city corporation candidates.

On 30 March, the NCP had announced its candidates for mayoral elections in five city corporations, including the two in Dhaka. At the time, Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain was named its candidate in Dhaka South, while Ariful Islam Adib, the party’s senior joint convener and convener of its Dhaka North unit, was named in Dhaka North. The party has now decided to replace Adib with Asif Mahmud in Dhaka North and replace Asif with Nasiruddin Patwary in Dhaka South.

Both candidates have already begun making preliminary preparations for the elections. Asif Mahmud changed his voter registration area from Dhaka South and is now registered as a voter in the Aftabnagar area under Dhaka North City Corporation. Meanwhile, Nasiruddin Patwary changed his voter registration area from Dhaka North and is now registered as a voter in the Dhaka-8 parliamentary constituency area under Dhaka South.

There is no requirement for a parliamentary election candidate to be a voter in the constituency where they contest. However, candidates in local government elections must be voters in the relevant area.

Similarly, the proposer and seconder of a nomination must also be voters in that area. NCP leaders said Asif and Nasiruddin changed their voter registration areas as part of their preparations to contest the mayoral elections.

Besides the two Dhaka city corporations, the NCP had announced on 30 March that Jatiya Jubo Shakti convener Tarikul Islam would contest for mayor in Cumilla City Corporation, city NCP convener Md Mobasher Ali in Rajshahi City Corporation, and city NCP convener Abdur Rahman Afzal in Sylhet City Corporation.

Nasiruddin Patwary told Prothom Alo that Asif Mahmud would contest the mayoral election in Dhaka North and that he himself was expected to contest in Dhaka South. However, the matter would be confirmed only after the party formally announces its candidates.

In the last parliamentary election, Nasiruddin Patwary contested the Dhaka-8 constituency as a candidate of the 11-party alliance. BNP Standing Committee member Mirza Abbas defeated him by a narrow margin. Asif Mahmud, a former adviser to the interim government, did not contest that election.

According to NCP sources, the party conducted several surveys before selecting mayoral candidates for the two Dhaka city corporations.

The findings indicated that Asif Mahmud had a better chance of performing well in Dhaka North, while Nasiruddin Patwary was more likely to perform well in Dhaka South. Asif Mahmud also assessed the situation at the grassroots level before agreeing to contest in Dhaka North.

NCP sources further said Nasiruddin Patwary had established a political presence in the Dhaka-8 area after contesting the parliamentary election there. This was also reflected in the party’s surveys. Taking these factors into consideration, the NCP decided to field him in Dhaka South.

Asif Mahmud told Prothom Alo that he and Nasiruddin Patwary changed their voter registration areas as part of their preparations to contest the city corporation elections.

He said that about two weeks ago, the party’s highest forum discussed the matter and decided to field him in Dhaka North and Nasiruddin in Dhaka South. The party, however, will formally announce the candidates later.

Asif Mahmud further said the NCP would contest all local government elections, including city corporation polls, independently. Preparations are underway with that objective.

Jamaat-e-Islami has not yet announced candidates for the city elections. However, there is speculation that Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU) VP Sadik Kayem could contest in Dhaka South, while metropolitan amir Selim Uddin could contest in Dhaka North.

Sources in Jamaat-e-Islami and the NCP said Jamaat has little interest in contesting local government elections as part of an alliance. The NCP and other partners also believe that effective joint campaigning in local elections is almost impossible. There is little precedent for the alliance partners fielding joint candidates in local elections in the past. Taking this into consideration, leaders of the 11-party alliance have in principle reached a decision to contest local elections separately.

However, while they will contest local elections separately, the 11-party alliance will remain politically intact. The parties will organise joint programmes on issues such as implementing the referendum verdict, and the electricity and gas crises, as well as other matters of public interest. Three more long marches and a subsequent mass rally in Dhaka are also planned.

Sources in the NCP and Jamaat said there would be coordination to ensure that candidates from the alliance partners do not clash with one another despite contesting separately. If the Election Commission or the government fails to cooperate, or attempts are made to influence the election in favour of candidates from the ruling party, the alliance partners will jointly protest. They will also participate together in such protest programmes at the central level.

Besides Jamaat-e-Islami, other major partners in the 11-party alliance include the Bangladesh Khilafat Majlis, Amar Bangladesh (AB) Party and the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

Nasiruddin Patwary told Prothom Alo that the 11 parties would move forward together politically but would contest local elections separately.

He said their campaign in local elections would not target any individual but the existing system. They would speak out against corruption, extortion and terrorism.