Awami League closely monitoring upazila polls

The ruling Awami League will closely observe the recent trend of relatives of party lawmakers participating in the upazila elections, defying warnings by the party's high command, several leaders of the party said after the Central Working Committee meeting on Tuesday.

Earlier, party leaders had anticipated that clear instructions would come from the ALCWC meeting held at Ganabhaban on Tuesday night. Party President and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who returned home from Thailand after a six-day visit on Monday, chaired the meeting.

Later, several central leaders confirmed that the upazila election issue did not come up for discussion. Rather, the participants mainly focused on the platinum jubilee celebration of the party to be held in June. Apart from this, some organizational instructions were given.

According to the sources, Shhabuddin Farazi, a member of the ALCWC, attempted to raise the issue of upazila polls, but the premier stopped him, saying that the issue would be discussed later. 

After the meeting, Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader told reporters that they did not discuss the election but decided to observe the situation intensively. 

However, Quader reiterated his warning, saying: “Those who are defying the party's decisions will face disciplinary actions on time.”

Wishing anonymity, another ALCWC member said there were several leaders present in the meeting whose family members are also contesting the upazila polls. “The prime minister may have skipped this issue in this meeting, but later she can appoint some leaders to monitor the upazila elections.”

During the meeting, the AL chief said divisions are being created centring various elections up to the grassroots level. She instructed ALCWC members to solve the divisions and strengthen unity.

Sheikh Hasina also instructed the central leaders to visit the designated districts and form committees at the soonest. “Now you are going to districts, giving speeches in the party councils, and returning to Dhaka, declaring only the names of the president and secretary. 

“When I was a young leader, after 1981, I used to visit a district for three to four days before declaring a committee,” Sheikh Hasina told her party colleagues.

No fireworks during celebration

During the meeting, the party decided to organize a three-day program on the occasion of the 75th founding anniversary on June 23.

However, after listening to several proposals raised in the meeting, party chief Sheikh Hasina instructed the ALCWC members to avoid fireworks and gorgeous celebrations. She suggested arranging some traditional pro-people programs like essay writing and cultural performances in educational institutions across the country to showcase the colourful history of the Awami League.