Bangladesh Awami League to launch election campaign from Jan

Ruling Bangladesh Awami League-led (AL) government will step into the fifth and the last year of its five-year tenure on 12 January 2018 and the party has planned to launch its election campaign from that very day for the next general elections.

Party insiders said the party will dispatch several teams led by senior leaders of the party to different districts as part of its campaign plan.

Apart from election campaign, these visits to district headquarters by the party senior leaders are aimed at facing the situation that will evolve after the pronouncement of the verdict in the cases against BNP chairperson and former prime minister Khaleda Zia.

Party insiders said the party high command instructed its rank and file to propagate “information of corruption of Zia family” among the people at the grassroots, and that will be carried out through these visits.

Besides, the ruling party has decided to continue its campaign at the grassroots until the next national election.

On the other hand, two trials on Zia Orphanage Trust graft and Zia Charitable Trust case against Khaleda Zia are in the last phases. Tarique Rahman is also an accused in one of the cases.

Al leaders believe Khaleda Zia and her elder son Tarique Rahman will be sentenced in these cases. The ruling party, therefore, is going to launch a massive campaign in this regard. Moreover, they will campaign on the issue of bringing back the money from Singapore allegedly laundered by Khaleda Zia's younger son late Arafat Rahman Koko.

Apart from that, during the two terms in the last nine years, the development work of Sheikh Hasina's government and the massacre in the protest and blockade in 2014-2015 by the BNP will be the other issues in the campaign.

Six leaders of the AL central committee talked about the political programmes and strategy of the party for the days ahead. They said, BNP might call it political animosity if the verdicts on the two cases are made against them. So they will start campaigning on the issues at the district level before the verdict.

The campaign then will expand to the upazila areas, they said again.

In a meeting of presidium committee with Sheikh Hasina on Saturday, party members decided to arrange visits to different districts. The party's general secretary Obaidul Quader was told to form organising teams for the visits, and 15 teams have been formed accordingly.

When asked about the visit, presidium member Faruk Khan said, the main goal of the visits is to inform people at the grassroots about the development works of the AL government and their future plans if they come into power. Besides, BNP-Jamaat's corruption and the massacre by them along with the current status of Bangladesh at the global stage will be highlighted.

Several party members said, AL was conducting surveys by various local and foreign organisations before the national election. Many government organisations are reporting regularly as well. Internal conflicts and clashes inside the party are shown in these reports. Leaders will try to resolve the clashes through these visits.

Many leaders related with AL's programmes said, AL would undertake some routine programmes throughout the year such as celebrating the anniversary of the government in January, Mother Language Day in February and Independence Day in March.

AL presidium member Abdur Razzak said, the year of election is knocking at the door, therefore the party is ready to launch its campaign.

Source: Prothom Alo