NCP Prepares for City Elections Independently
The National Citizen Party (NCP) has decided to contest upcoming city corporation and local government elections independently. The party will not form an alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami. They will also not join other alliance partners in these elections.
The NCP has already chosen its mayoral candidates for five city corporations. This includes Dhaka North and Dhaka South. NCP spokesperson Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain will run for mayor in Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC). The party’s chief coordinator, Nasiruddin Patwary, will contest in Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC). The NCP will formally announce these candidates later.
Previously, on March 30, the NCP had announced different candidates. Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain was named for Dhaka South. Ariful Islam Adib was named for Dhaka North. The party changed its decision after conducting several surveys. These surveys showed Asif Mahmud had a better chance in Dhaka North. Nasiruddin Patwary had a better chance in Dhaka South.
Both Asif Mahmud and Nasiruddin Patwary have made changes for the elections. Asif Mahmud changed his voter registration area to Dhaka North. Nasiruddin Patwary changed his voter registration area to Dhaka South. Candidates in local government elections must be voters in the area where they contest. This is why they changed their voter registration.
Besides Dhaka, the NCP announced other mayoral candidates earlier. Tarikul Islam will run in Cumilla City Corporation. Md Mobasher Ali will contest in Rajshahi City Corporation. Abdur Rahman Afzal will be the candidate in Sylhet City Corporation.
The 11-party alliance, which includes the NCP, will remain politically united. They will organize joint programs on important national issues. These include protests against the electricity and gas crises. However, the alliance partners will contest local elections separately.
Leaders from the NCP and Jamaat-e-Islami said that effective joint campaigning is difficult in local elections. There is little history of alliance partners fielding joint candidates in past local elections. Therefore, alliance leaders agreed to contest separately.
The NCP’s campaign will focus on system problems. They will speak out against corruption, extortion, and terrorism. They will not target any individual. Even though they will contest separately, the alliance partners will coordinate their efforts. They will jointly protest if the elections are not fair.
