Suppressed anger and frustration among the JP candidates
Suppressed anger and frustration has spread among the leaders and workers of Jatiya Party(JP). Many candidates are said to be thinking of sitting out if they do not get financial assistance from the Centre.
Whether the Common Election Fund will be given to those who are in contact with the Election Monitoring Committee of the party many candidates are also saying that they will leave if the election fund is not given. Their statement is that Jatiya Party has taken 26 seats in agreement with Awami League. They were not considered during the negotiation, why should they spend their money now? Many people want to take a decision after looking at the situation for another two to four days. There are already reports of candidates withdrawing from some constituencies.
Zakir Hossain, candidate of Jatiya Party in Sirajganj-3 (Rayganj-Tarash) constituency, has announced to leave the race of election on December 23. He is the President of Raiganj Upazila Jatiya Party. He told the reporters that till December 17, several electoral offices were held in the field. Enthusiasm was created among the leaders and workers, but after 4 pm on December 17, it all died down. That is, on December 17, he indicated the compromise of 26 seats at the last moment.
On the other hand, the candidate of Natore-4 (Baraigram-Gurdaspur) constituency Alauddin Mridha has announced to leave the field on December 21. He said that there is dissatisfaction among grassroot leaders and workers due to the sharing of seats with Awami League and the nomination of new ones in other constituencies of Natore.
A member of the Election Monitoring Committee and an organizing secretary of the Central Committee told Barta24.com on condition of anonymity that most of the calls are coming to know whether money for election expenses will be paid. Many are angry with the news of compromise in 26 seats. They are also saying that they will leave if they don't get election funds. We have told them, no decision has been taken on funding yet. It has not been decided that the party will give funds, nor has it been decided that it will not be given. Some candidates have told me that they will withdraw from the election if they don't get the funds. Wait till December 27 at the latest.
Jatiya Party Central Committee Joint Secretary General and Election Management Committee member Belal Hossain told Barta24.com that candidates are being contacted by the Election Management Committee. Many times the candidates are also communicating about various issues. Violence is being reported from some places and action is being taken against them.
He said, the election office of our candidate in Narayanganj-3 constituency was attacked under the leadership of the local Jubo League president. I am drawing the attention of the government and the Election Commission to take swift action. The Mograpara union of that seat is very dangerous. We hope that the EC will be proactive in protecting the electoral environment.
In response to a question, he said that no decision has been taken yet whether party chairman GM Quader, general secretary Mujibul Haque Chunnu or central leaders will go to various constituencies for election campaigns. Chairman and secretary general are staying in their respective constituencies. After returning to Dhaka, we will discuss these issues.
Belal Hossain said that we do not have any such information regarding the rumors of many candidates withdrawing. So far, only the candidate of Natore-4 seat has officially come to know about withdrawal.
The Jatiya Party has so far not given any direction to the party candidates except giving nominations. A kind of frustration is increasing among the candidates. The chairman of the party went to his constituency Rangpur-3 (Sadar) seat on December 22, but there is no program to go to any other area. He is not even going to Rangpur-1, 2, 4 and 5 constituencies. Even though his nephew Asif Shahriar's Rangpur-1 (Gangachra) constituency is a few minutes away, he is not going there either. He is scheduled to return to Dhaka on Monday morning. The local leaders are not satisfied with this behavior of the party chairman. Many of them thought that if GM Quader goes to Rangpur, he will visit at least a few seats in the vicinity.
Jatiya Party participated in the election through various dramas. Begum Roushan Ershad, chief patron of Jatiya Party and leader of the opposition in Sangsad, withdrew from the election on November 29 due to the tension over the seat of his son Saad Ershad and the nomination of his followers was not confirmed. The party nominated party candidates for 294 seats, but 6 candidates did not file their nomination papers in the end. After the selection, the Election Commission declared the candidates of JP valid in 272 constituencies. On the last day of withdrawal of nomination papers (December 17), some candidates withdrew from the election. In the end, JP sources said that candidates got symbols in 265 seats.
The drama continued until the last moment of withdrawal of nomination papers on December 17. At the last minute, JP announced to participate in the elections. At the same time, Awami League held a separate press conference to confirm the fact that 26 seats were to be given to JP. Senior leaders and some sitting MPs not being on the compromise list, on the other hand suspicions and mistrust have increased over GM Quader's wife getting the Dhaka-18 seat. Other candidates outside the 26 seats are unhappy about the seat-sharing.