AL candidates for 5 by-polls may be named Sunday

A total of 141 aspirants have collected party nomination forms for by-elections to five constituencies. The selection of candidates from among them may be finalised on Sunday.

The Awami League selection board will hold a meeting at the prime minister’s official residence, Gonobhaban, on Sunday afternoon. Due to coronavirus, the number of members to attend the meeting has been restricted. Others will be consulted over phone.

Sources in Awami League have said that party president Sheikh Hasina has already gathered information about the prospective candidates from intelligence agencies, organisation channels and her own sources. A final decision about the candidates has more or less been taken.

The meeting to be held with prime Sheikh Hasina on Sunday afternoon is likely to be attended by Amir Hossain Amu, Tofail Ahmed, Obaidul Quader, Abdur Razzak and Faruk Khan.

The Pabna-4 by election is to be held on 26 September. The seat fell vacant upon the demise of former land minister Shamsur Rahman Sharif alias Dilu.

The Dhaka-5 and Naogaon-6 by-polls are scheduled for 17 October. The Dhaka-5 member of parliament was Awami League’s Habibur Rahman Molla. The Naogaon-6 member of parliament had been the late Israfil Alam.

In the meantime, Awami League presidium members and former ministers Mohammad Nasim and Sahara Khatun have passed away, leaving vacant the Sirajganj-1 and Dhaka-18 seats vacant respectively.

The election commission has not announced any date for by-elections to these two seats year. Awami League, however, has sold nomination forms at Tk 30,000 each for all five seats.

With 141 aspirants, each seat on average had 28 interested candidates. The most forms have collected for the Dhaka -18 seat, 56 in all. The least forms have been sold for the Sirajganj-seat, only 3.

Most leaders feel the sooner the names of the candidates are announced, the better, due to the coronavirus circumstances. This will give the candidates time to prepare and also for the party to iron out any problems that may arise.

The party leaders are concerned about two seats in Dhaka and the Pabna-4 seat because the families of the deceased Dhaka-5 and Pabna-4 constituencies have a claim on these seats. But the party is divided over them.

It is also not clear as to whether BNP will take part in the by-polls.

Former land minister Shamsur Rahman was member of parliament 5 times from the Pabna-4 constituency. A total of 28 have collected forms for this seat. This includes six family members of Shamsur Rahman, including his wife, children and son-in-law.

Habibur Rahman Molla was member of parliament for five times from the Dhaka-5 seat. His son Mashiur Rahman Molla collected a nomination form for the by-election there. But so has Dhaka city south AL president Abu Ahmed Mannafi. In all, 20 have collected forms for the seat.

The recently deceased AL presidium member and minister Sahara Khan had been member of parliament from Dhaka-18 since 2008. Social media abounds in speculations that the prime minister’s daughter Sayma Hossain Putul may contest from this seat, though no AL leaders have confirmed this. There are 56 candidates here.

Israfil Alam had long been the member of parliament for Naogaon-6. He recently contracted coronavirus and died. There are 34 contenders for this seat from the party. There is strong possibility of Israfil’s wife Sultana Paveen getting the nomination.

In Sirajganj, Mohammad Nasim’s family members are the likely contenders, though who will be nominated remains the question. Possible candidates are Nasim’s son Tanveer Shakil Joy and his cousin Shehrin Selim among others.