With the general election approaching, local leaders of ruling Awami League, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Jatiya Party and other political parties are paying attention to make their respective parties stronger in the Chattogram-4 constituency.
The nomination seekers have already started early field work to win the people’s hearts in their constituency.
But the ruling AL will have to struggle to have a single Member of Parliament (MP) candidate for Chattogram-4 constituency while BNP will not face such a situation, according to the latest development in the Chattogram-4 constituency’s political arena.
DidarulAlam of ruling Awami League (AL) has been representing the party in the National Parliament as a lawmaker from 2014.
The constituency encompasses Sitakunda Upazila and Chattogram City Corporation wards 9 and 10.
The constituency was created for the first general elections in newly independent Bangladesh, held in 1973.
Ahead of the 2014 general election, the Election Commission renumbered the seat for Sandwip Upazila from Chattogram-16 to Chattogram-3, bumping up by one the suffix of the former constituency of that name and the higher numbered constituencies in the district.
Previously, Chattogram-4 encompassed Bayazid Thana and Hathazari Upazila.
NurulAlam Chowdhury of AL contested the first general elections in newly independent Bangladesh, held in 1973 and became the Member of Parliament (MP).
BNP candidate Jamal Uddin Ahmad contested the general elections held in 1979 and won the seat while NurulAlam Chowdhury contested the general elections in 1986 and regained the seat.
But, MazharulHaq Shah Chowdhury of the Jatiya Party contested the national polls in 1988 and became the MP.
Syed Nazibul Bashar Maizbhandary got the AL ticket to contest the general elections held in 1991 and won the seat.
Rafiqul Anwar, an independent candidate contested the February general elections in 1996 and won the seat while Anisul Islam Mahmud of Jatiya Party contested the general elections held in 2008 and became the MP.
AL leader AbulKashem was elected MP in June in 1996 for the first time and again in 2009 when he discharged duties as the chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce Ministry.
But, AL candidate DidarulAlam contested two general elections held in 2014 and 2018 and became lawmaker twice.
To reduce the population pressure on Chattogram, Sitakunda has been developed as a satellite town of the city, as well as a zone selected for industrial development along with Bhatiari.
On 12 September last year, a task force was formed in a meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office to formulate a master plan for taking up multiple development projects by clearing 3,100 acres of land in Salimpur jungle of Sitakunda.
With the news of government plans to implement projects in the hills, influential people have started lobbying at different levels of the government to get allocation of land in the hills.
Chattogram City Corporation has requested 123 acres of land to implement 9 projects including the establishments of an entertainment zone, multipurpose convention centre, kitchen market, holiday market, residential area and shopping complex.
The BGMEA has asked the government to allocate 10 acres of land for setting up a university and 200 acres of land for setting up an independent garment zone.
More than 100 ship-breaking yards have sprung up on a 18 km stretch from Sitakunda'sFaujdarhat to Kumira.
Around 2 lakh people are directly and indirectly involved in this ship-breaking sector.
Therefore, this constituency is very important to all political parties.
The incumbent lawmaker DidarulAlam will seek party nomination to contest the next general elections.
Apart from DidarulAlam, Abdullah Al BaquerBhuiyan, former President and General Secretary of Sitakunda upazila unit of AL and SM Al Mamun, son of former AL lawmaker late AbulKashem Master and Chairman of Sitakunda upazila want to contest the next general elections as AL candidate.
Besides, freedom fighter Bakhtiar Uddin Chowdhury, Mostofa Kamal Chowdhury, former President of Sitakunda upazila unit of AL and Advocate Fakhruddin Chowdhury, Senior Vice-President of Chattogram district (North) unit of AL will also seek party nomination.
On the other hand, if BNP participates in the next general elections, BNP Joint Secretary General Aslam Chowdhury is likely to get the party ticket to contest the polls, according to local BNP leaders.
Earlier Aslam Chowdhury was placed on a seven-day remand in a sedition case filed allegedly for hatching a conspiracy with Israel's Likud Party and its intelligence agency Mossad to oust the government.
He was also involved in arson attacks during the BNP-led 20-party alliance’s anti-government agitation.
Known to be a trusted lieutenant of BNP Senior Vice-Chairman Tarique Rahman, Chattogram-based businessman Aslam came under severe criticism from in and outside the party after several photographs went viral in social media showing him with Israeli politician Mendi N Safadi, also chief of Safadi Center for International Diplomacy and Public Relations.
Newspapers ran reports with the Israeli politician to overthrow the Awami League government in Bangladesh.
The Jatiya Party, the main opposition in parliament, will also field candidates to contest the next general elections.
Besides, local leaders of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami are also taking preparations silently for contesting the next general elections though they are yet to confirm whether their party will be allowed to participate in the national polls.
