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Gazipur-4 By-Polls JP ready to contest alone

Hasan Jaiiid Tusher
The ruling Awami League-led grand alliance's key component, the Jatiya Party, has taken the Gazipur-4 byelection as an "acid test" to assess its popularity as it prepares to contest the next parliamentary elections independently.
The decision came at a meeting of the JP presidium on Monday night at its Banani office with party chief HM Ershad in the chair. Although the meeting decided to take part in the byelection alone in the absence of the main opposition BNR some policymakers called for a boycott of the poll. They argued that the ruling AL would try anyhow to win the election.
Insiders say the JP will convey its decision to the AL soon as both parlies are part of the grand alliance government and have jointly taken part in different polls, including the last general elections in 2008.
Ershad has declared on several occasions that his party will contest the next national elections independently. Sources in both the AL and the JP say Ershad is planning to be the leader of the opposition in the next parliament should the BNP bovcotl the election.
The Gazipur-4 [Kapasia] constituency fell vacant after the AL's Tanjim Ahmed Sohel Taj resigned from parliament early last month. The opposition BNP immediately announced it would not take part in any election under the present government.
"If we get a good candidate, we will take part in the byelection alone and we consider it an acid test to gauge our popularity," JP Presidium Member Ziauddin Ahmed Bablu told The Daily Star.
Meeting sources say Ershad and some other leaders wanted to nominate Brig Gen (retd) Kazi Mahmud Hasan, the president of the party's Gazipur district unit, as the JP candidate for the byelection.
Hasan, who was present at the meeting, expressed his reluctance to be a candidate and suggested that Mustafizur Rahman, president of the Kapasia upazila unit of the JR be chosen as the party candidate.
The meeting later decided that the party would pick a candidate from among Kazi Zafar Ahmed, Hasan and
Mustafizur as its nominee.
Some changes to the party constitution were brought about al the meeting in light of the government's move to launch some new city corporations, including Rangpur, Narayanganj and Coinilia.
The meeting dissolved the parly's Rangpur municipal unit committee and formed a Rangpur City Corporation (RCC) convening committee with former JP lawmaker Moshiur Rahman Ranga as its convener.
It also upgraded the Narayanganj and Comilla municipal units' committees to a position equal to the status of the district unit committees of the parly.
J P Secretary General Ruhul Amin Hawlader, presidium members Rawshan Ershad, Kazi Zafar Ahmed, Anisul Islam Mahmud, GM Quader, Ziauddin Bablu, TIM Fazle Rabbi Chowdhury, Golam Habib Dulal and Mojibur Rahman, among others, were present.