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Rangpur

Feud doesn't matter for JP aspirants

Porimol Palma and Rafique Sarker
Jatiya Party's (JP) alliance with Awami League (AL) is to give all JP candidates in greater Rangpur a considerable edge in today's polls despite intraalliance feud of the two parties in several constituencies.
The BNP-Jamaat government's "lack of attention" towards the people of this region is also likely to help AL and JP candidates, local political analysts say.
JP candidates are contesting in 18 constituencies in greater Rangpur. Of them, five are in Rangpur, home district of JP Chairman HM Ershad, four in Gaibandha, four in Kurigram, three in Nilphamari and two in Lalmonirhat districts.
IP's alliance partner AL also nominated candidates in six constituencies--Rangpur-4, Rangpur-5, Kurigram-4. Galbandha-4, Gaibandha-5 and Nilphamari-4.
Political analysts had earlier apprehended that the grand alliances would be in trouble in these six constituencies because voters of AL and JP would be divided paving the way for four-party alliance candidates to do some damage to the grand alliance's will-win-tally.
But latest developments suggest otherwise. They now say that there will be a three-horse-race only in Nilphamari-4, Kurigram-4 and Rangpur-4 as candidates of AL, JP and four-party alliance have equal hold on voters.
There are candidates of both AL and JP in Rangpur-5, Gaibandha-4 and Gaibandha-5 constituencies but the battle is likely to be between them only as four-party alliance candidates appear to be weak.
Hasan Ali of BNP in Gaibandha-5, Shah Mohammad Hafizur Rahman of Jamaat in Rangpur-5 and Abdur Rahim Sarkar of Jamaat in Gaibandha-4 are up against strong JP and AL candidates.
Prof Mazharul Mannan of Gaibandha said the three candidates in the constituencies are new and had trouble persuadingundecided voters.
In the other 12 constituencies of the region, the grand alliance nominated JP candidates are likely to win since they arc going to get votes of AL and IP supporters.
These constituencies
include Rangpur-1, Rangpur-2, Rangpur-3, Gaibandha-1, Gaibandha-3, Kurigram-1, Kurigram-2, Kurigram-3, Lalmonirhat-2, Lalmonirhat-3, N i 1 p h a m a r i - 1, and Nllphamari-3.
JP Chairman HM Ershad himself is standing in Rangpur-3 and Kurigram 2 constituencies. His younger brother GM Quadcr is in Lalmonirhat-3.
JP traditionally has a strong voter base in greater Rangpur as Rangpur is die home of Ershad who played a major role in developing the region's infrastructure when he was the president in the 80 s.
In the 1991 national polls, JP won 35 seats and Ershad alone had won five seats in Rangpur district despite being in jail. The JP strongholds, however, declined to 32 in the 1996 polls and to just 13 in the 2001 polls.
Analysts say that JP's alliance with AL has given JP the opportunity to win most of the constituencies in this region in today's polls.
AL and JP pledged that Rangpur will be made a division if the alliance was voted to power. "It is inspiring to the voters,” Rangpur municipality mayor told The Daily Star yesterday.
President of Rangpur district BNP Rahim Uddin Bhorosha, however, said the BNP-led alliance is likely to win at least 10 seats in greater Rangpur as the alliance tried to take advantage of the intraalliance feud in grand alliance.
The chief election coordinator of AL for Rangpur-6 and AL central executive committee member KM Jahangir said even though there are candidates of both AL and JP in six constituencies in greater Rangpur, the BNP-led alliance candidates have no chance of winning those.