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2,468 polling centres in Dhaka city.

The mood of voters, however, was as festive as it was in the parliamentary elections held more than a year ago.

FESTIVITY OUTSIDE,

CENTRES ALMOST EMPTY

The Daily Star visited 207 polling centres in Dhaka south and north city corporation areas, but found helpdesks set up by BNP men at only three places -- Mohammadpur, Khilgaon and New Market areas. At such helpdesks, voters are given slips with their voting serial numbers.

In Mohammadpur, BNP men could not distribute such slips among voters even after setting up the desk.

“We are not being allowed to hand the slips to our supporters as they [AL men] have threatened us saying they will drive us from here if we do so,” Md Al Amin, a BNP activist, told The Daily Star. “They’ve already broke our desk on Nurjahan Road.”

For the AL, the scenario was totally different.

There was a good number of supporters, mostly youths, in front of every polling station. They were wearing badges with photo of “boat”, the party’s electoral symbol.

Rickshaws and some motorised vehicles, with posters and festoons of AL candidates, were seen transporting people. Supporters and followers of the mayor and councillor candidates were seen eating snacks, and even playing cricket outside polling centres at places.

The situation inside the centres, however, was different. Long queues of voters -- a common sight on election day -- was not scene on most occasions.

Inside some centres, AL men made fake queues of voters, apparently to show a higher turnout.

At the Dhaka University Laboratory School polling centre, supporters of AL mayor candidate for Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC), Fazle Noor Taposh, formed once such queue, one of these correspondents found.

At Adarsha High School centre in Mirpur-10, supporters of Atiqul Islam the party’s mayor candidate for the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC), also made a fake queue after locking the centre’s main gate, reported another correspondent, who was present there.

At Cherry Grammar School centre at Ibrahimpur in Kafrul, voters expressed their frustration as they had to wait long to go in.

Talking to The Daily Star, some city dwellers alleged although the centre was mostly empty, voters were not being allowed in. “One or two voters could go inside in every 10 minutes,” said a man from the area.

Voters at many places alleged they could not vote as it had already been cast.

For example, a man in his late 60s said he was obstructed by ruling party men from voting for a candidate of his choice. This centre was on Green Road.

AGENTS OF OPPOSITION

PARTIES MISSING

The Daily Star correspondents found agents hired by candidates from the BNP at around 20 polling centres, but the number of agents was very low.

There were a few agents of Islami Andolan Bangladesh.

But agents of AL candidates were everywhere.

There were some allegations that agents of candidates from opposition parties, including the BNP, were forced out of the centres by the ruling party men.

One of these correspondents saw 10 polling agents of Tabith Awal, BNP’s mayor candidate in the DNCC, around 8:10am at a centre at MDC Model Institute at Pallabi, Mirpur.

When the reporter went to the centre again around 2:00pm, there were only two of the agents left.

“We were two female and eight male polling agents. But the males were driven out of the centre by ruling party men around 8:30am,” said Liton Hawlader, one of the male polling agents.

Around 2:30pm, The Daily Star found a polling agent of Tabith, named Mofidul Alam, at Motherland International School centre at Shewrapara in Mirpur.

Mofidul said, “Four of our men were supposed to come to this centre. But three did not show up for reasons unknown.”

Contacted after the voting counting, Mofidul said he was at the centre till the last time and his candidate won at the centre.

Visiting 24 centres in Rampura, Badda and Gulshan areas, these correspondents found no agents of BNP candidates at 13 centres.

Asked about the absence of the agents, Touhidul Haq, presiding officers of a centre set up at Rampura’s Ideal School and College, said, “I don’t know why they’ve left.”

Wishing not to be named, some of the assistant presiding officers there said polling agents of BNP candidates were forced out from there.