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8 in N'ganj mayoral race

278 to vie for 27 councillor posts

Our Correspondent, Narayanganj
Eight mayoral aspirants, including Shamim Osman, Selina Hayat Ivy and Taimur Alam Khandoker, yesterday filed nomination papers for the
October 30 Narayanganj City Corporation polls.
Two hundred seventy-eight nomination papers were filed against 27 posts of councillor and 56 nomina-
tion papers against nine reserved seats for women councillor on the last day yesterday.
Among the mayoral hopefuls,
former Awami League lawmaker Shamim Osman, former mayor of Narayanganj municipality Ivy and president of Narayanganj town unit BNP Taimur are considered frontrunners.
BNP has picked Taimur as its candidate.
As the AL high command was yet to choose between Shamim and Ivy, many leaders and workers of the ruling party looked confused and tense.
Both the leaders have been lobbying hard for party support for their candidacies.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, also the AL president, last night sat with the duo at her Gono Bhaban residence, but none of them was confirmed as the party-backed candidate, party sources said.
After filing the nomination papers, both Shamim and Ivy, however, said they are “confident" about get- tingpartysupport.
Earlier, party insiders told The Daily Star that many local leaders have sided with Shamim who used to be considered a godfather of local criminals during the 1996-2001 tenure of AL government. Some said they cannot openly support Ivy “for fear of Shamim".
Centering on the nomination papers submission at the town's Shaheed Zia Hall Auditorium, hundreds of leaders, workers and supporters of AL and BNP gathered since morning on the premises.
A good number of law enforcers were deployed in front of the auditorium to avert any untoward incident.
The nomination papers will be scrutinised on October 4 and 5, and the last date for withdrawal of candidature is October 12.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission yesterday decided to conduct drives in the newly formed city corpo- ration areas to arrest criminals and recover illegal weapons to ensure a free and fair election.
The drive will begin soon, Election Commissioner Muhammad Sohul Hussein told reporters at the EC secretariat in the capital.
He said the commission does not see a need for army deployment as the local administration is “acting neutrally”.
But Ivy yesterday reiterated her demand for army deployment.
Meanwhile, BNP has decided to oppose the electronic voting machine (EVM) in the election. The party is likely to make its stance clear on the issue tomorrow.
Other mayoral hopefuls who also filed nomination papers include SM Akram, convener of district AL, Habibullah Kanchpuri, Atiqur Rahman Nannu Munshi, Atiqulla Jibon and Sharif Muhammad.