CCC mayoral candidates launch campaigns

The ruling Awami League-backed mayoral candidate in the Chittagong City Corporation elections, ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury, and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party-backed candidate, M Manjur Alam Manju, formally began their electoral campaign from the Shah Amanat Shrine on Friday.
Former mayor Mohiuddin began the campaign after saying jumma prayer at the shrine, and was accompanied by Mahmudul Islam, president of the Citizens’ Committee which had nominated him as mayoral candidate for the fourth time, Badiul Alam, organizing secretary of the AL’s city unit, and a large number of AL activists.
He exchanged pleasantries with the devotees at the shrine and sought their votes and cooperation.
Mohiuddin had earlier attended the inauguration ceremony of the Chittagong Television Camera Journalists Association at the Chittagong Press Club. The gathering, with Enam Haider in the chair, was addressed by CPC’s president Abu Sufian, Chittagong Union of Journalists’ president Shahidul Alam and Chittagong Metropolitan Union of Journalists’ president Shamsul Haque Haidari, along with others.
Mohiuddin, while addressing the gathering as the chief guest, said that Chittagong has the potential to be as developed as Singapore, for which proper planning was necessary, and he had worked out a plan in this regard.
He said he had had some differences of opinion with the local leaders of his party, but these had been ironed out due to the intervention of party president Sheikh Hasina, and claimed that Awami League’s members never went against the party’s final decision.
‘There was also difference of opinion on the liberation war in 1971, which was removed by the proclamation of independence by Bangabandhu,’ he added.
Manju, who was nominated by the Chittagong Development Movement, started his electoral campaign by visiting the Shah Amanat Shrine in the afternoon after saying jumma prayer at Chhadu Chowdhury Mosque in Dakshin Katthali.
He began his mass contact programme and exchanged views with the locals of Patharghata and Lalkhan Bazar after the formal inception of his electoral campaign. He pledged to upgrade Chittagong into one of the best cities of the world if he was elected as mayor.
Manju said it was possible to turn Chittagong into one of the developed cities of the world if the mayor worked with honesty, devotion and impartiality, and assured everyone that he would do so if they elected him to the mayoralty.
He was accompanied by BNP city unit’s vice-president Shamshul Alam, general secretary Dr Shahadat Hossain, M Nazim Uddin, Abu Sufian, MA Sabur, Mahbubur Rahman Shamim and Abul Hashem Bakkar Manju.
There are a total of 13 candidates for the mayoral post in the CCC polls, scheduled to be held on June 17, but no other candidate was seen electioneering on the first day of the electoral campaign as per the election schedule.
The candidates will be able to withdraw their nomination forms till June 1.

Courtesy of NewAge