Tacit support of the main opposition Awami League seems to have put the Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh (BDB) candidate in an ‘advantageous’ position for the upcoming by-election to the Munshiganj-1 constituency on June 6.

The Awami League (AL) votes are likely to be dropped into the ballot boxes for BDB candidate Mahi B Chowdhury, son of former President Badruddoza Chowdhury, as the main opposition is boycotting the by-polls. Besides, Mahi reportedly has a strong political support in his constituency, Srinagar and Serajdikhan thanas of Munshiganj.

On the other hand, four-party alliance candidate Md Momin Ali, a Jubo Dal leader of Srinagar thana, claims that he would be elected MP with a wide margin of votes. In addition to Ali’s local political colleagues and activists, State Minister for Health, Mizanur Rahman Sinha and other central BNP leaders are working hard to woo the voters in favour of the alliance candidate.

The local AL leaders and activists are not working directly in support of Mahi but presenting positive sides of the BDB and Prof Chowdhury, who is very popular in Munsiganj district. His father Kafiluddin Chowdhury was also a minister during the Pakistan era.

“We are not going door to door for votes in support of Mahi but suggesting them to vote against the alliance candidate as a political strategy,” Habibur Rahman, president of Patabhog Union unit of the AL, told The Independent yesterday. He hoped that about 65,000 voters, who used to vote for the AL, would vote for Mahi’s winnow symbol. Another AL local leader Abdur Rab Shikdar said the AL would do everything possible to prove the four-party alliance government unpopular through this by-election.

The number of voters in the constituency is about 2,23,000, the Srinagar election office sources said. In the last general election in October 2001, BNP candidate Prof Chowdhury got elected bagging over 94,000 votes while his nearest rival, AL’s Sukumar Ranjan Ghos, managed about 64,000 votes. In the 1996 polls, Prof Chowdhury got 62,000 votes while his nearest rival KS Nabi of the AL got 42,000, followed by Shah Moazzem Hossain of Jatiya Party with 20,120 votes.

The JP has not fielded any candidate for this by-election. The number of Jamaat supporters in the constituency is negligible, local people said.

Both Momin Ali and Mahi B Chowdhury have been passing very busy days with election campaigns in the two thanas of the district. Makeshift election camps have been erected for the two candidates in different hats and bazars of 14 unions of Srinagar and six unions of Serajdikhan thana. The number of Mahi’s election offices is higher than that of Ali’s. Mahi supporters appeared to be more active than the campaigners of Momin.

Both Mahi and Momin Ali ruled out the possibility of use of musclemen and money in the election so far. The local police also said the election campaign was going on peacefully.

“I am sure that people will elect me, but I wonder if the government would tolerate my victory,” the BDB candidate told this correspondent during his election campaign yesterday in Imamganj under Serjdikhan thana.

He alleged that Momin’s supporters were resisting his campaigners in pasting posters at night, an allegation vehemently denied by Momin Ali.

“You must forget all your petty political differences and work together to get the four-party alliance candidate, Momin Ali, elected,” State Minister for Health Mizanur Rahman Sinha told the leaders and activists of the BNP and its front organisations yesterday at an exchange of view meeting at Ananda community centre in Srinagar.

The minister said Momin should be elected to maintain the on-going development activities in the areas.

“Ministers are campaigning in favour of the four-party alliance candidate violating the election code of conduct,” Mahi told The Independent.

“I will achieve a landslide victory in the polling as the people of Srinagar and Serjadikhan are staunch supporters of the BNP,” Momin Ali told this newspaper yesterday. He ruled out the possibility of rigging in the polls.

People at different intersections, restaurants, tea stalls, markets were found discussing the forthcoming by-polls.

“Mahi has popularity among a section of the BNP leaders,” Nizamuddin, a resident of Bejgaon village under Srinagar told this newspaper. Sohel, a young man of Hoglagaon of Srinagar, echoed Nizamuddin remarks.

“The AL voters would vote for Mahi B Chowdhury,” Malek of Atpara village said. Md Selim of Bittara village said some senior BNP leaders were sidelined and a junior leader was given nomination. Rahim Mallik of Charbishwanathpur said, Mahi has good family reputation in the areas.