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‘Go alone’ policy
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faction. Party insiders said it was his clean image that won over the AL chief.
Over the years, Mayor Nasir, general secretary of Chattogram City AL, kept his rivalry with the Mohiuddin family alive. He also alienated most of the senior AL leaders in Chattogram, including presidium member Engineer Mosharraf Hossain, insiders said.
AL members have also not forgotten that in October last year, Nasir forced Mohiuddin’s wife Hasina Mohiuddin, president of Chattogram City Mahila AL, to leave the stage during a programme in the presence of AL General Secretary Obaidul Quader.
AL insiders said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was fond of Mohiuddin’s family and she did not approve of the way Nasir treated Mohiuddin and his family members.
However, residents of the city and politicians were a little surprised by Rezaul’s nomination as he was never under the spotlight when the general public, activists, and media analysts were talking about probable AL nominees.
According to Chattogram City AL leaders, Nasir also had a rivalry with Mosharraf Hossain over the ownership of Jatinsangha Park when Mosharraf was the minister for housing and public works.
Besides, Nasir could not make any significant changes in the city as a mayor, said an AL leader, adding that he could not even set up a new park and instead allowed shops and business establishments to spring up in parks and on footpaths.
“Surveys were conducted on Nasir’s popularity by different agencies and all the reports went against him,” the AL leader said yesterday.
Days after taking over as mayor, Nasir alleged that bureaucrats demanded 5 percent of the development funds. It angered the bureaucrats, and as a result, the city corporation “did not get enough funds” for development during the first two years of his five-year tenure, said another AL leader.
Farid Mahmud, joint convener of Chattogram City Juba League, told The Daily Star that the PM had given recognition to a dedicated and tested leader from the grassroots by nominating Rezaul, adding that the grassroots leaders and activists were glad.
Mohammed Nasim, member of AL Local Government Nomination Board, said Rezaul was nominated because the board wanted to give the “new leader” a chance.
“I think, in some cases, new faces should be given chances so that they can prove their potential,” he said, “We also nominated new faces in other city corporations in the past.”
Contacted, AL presidium member Engineer Mosharraf Hossain said Rezaul had a clean image.
Mayor Nasir told The Daily Star that he had accepted the PM’s decision. “I am always loyal to her and will remain so forever.”
He added that he and his followers would do everything to help the party nominee win.
When contacted, Rezaul said, “I am grateful to her [PM]. I do not have any rivalry or rift with anyone.”
EC ANNOUNCES SCHEDULE
The Election Commission yesterday announced the schedule of the Chattogram City Corporation (CCC) election slated for March 29.
The last date for submission of nomination papers is February 27. The papers will be evaluated by EC officials on March 1, said EC Senior Secretary Alamgir.
The last date for withdrawal from candidacy is March 8. The contenders’ election symbols will be announced the next day.
Appeals against the EC’s evaluation have to be submitted from March 2-4. Decisions about the appeals will be taken from March 5-7.

Bandits kill 30 in northwest Nigeria attack
Afp, Kano
Armed gangs killed 30 people in raids on two villages in an area of northwest Nigeria plagued by cattle rustlers and kidnappers, police said yesterday.
Dozens of gunmen on motorcycles attacked the villages of Tsauwa and Dankar in Katsina state on Friday, shooting residents and burning homes.
“The bandits killed 21 people in Tsauwa and another nine in nearby Dankar,” Katsina police spokesman Gambo Isah said.
“Most of those killed were old people and children who couldn’t escape.”
Police and soldiers deployed in the area after the attack and arrested one suspect, Isah said.
The attackers burnt homes, livestock and food supplies before fleeing, said Tukur Mu’azu, traditional chief of Batsari, a district the straddles the two attacked villages.
He gave the same death toll as the police for what he described as an “unprovoked attack”.
“I have never seen such destruction in my life,” the local leader told AFP as he attended the burial of the victims.
Rural communities in Katsina state, the home region of President Muhammadu Buhari, have frequently been targeted by gangs of cattle thieves and kidnappers abducting people for ransom.
The gangs launch attacks from their bases in a vast forest straddling Katsina and several neighbouring states.
Residents across the affected areas have clubbed together to fill the security void by forming self-defence groups, but these vigilante outfits have often served to fuel the violence.
An armed gang on Tuesday burnt to death 21 people, including 16 members of a single family, in a reprisal raid in neighbouring Kaduna state to avenge a vigilante attack on their hideout.