SUSHANTA GHOSH

The Awami League mayoral candidate in the Barishal city polls, Abul Khair Abdullah, is meeting city dwellers ahead of the polls but without any support from the party leaders who are loyal to incumbent Mayor Serniabat Sadiq Abdullah and his father Abul Hasanat Abdullah.

During his interaction with the people on Tuesday, no key leaders of the city and district AL units, except for city unit Senior Vice President Afzalul Karim, accompanied the mayor hopeful, said party sources.

The previous day, Khair’s supporters and the leaders and activities of the other AL faction held two separate rallies in the city to mark May Day.

Some central AL leaders, including presidium members Abdur Rahman and Jahangir Kabir Nanak, recently visited Barishal, but they could not involve the supporters of the mayor and his father in Khair’s “campaign”, said sources in the ruling party.

The polls to Barishal City Corporation are scheduled for June 12.

Leaders and activists of the Barishal city and district AL virtually became divided into two after the party picked Khair over Sadiq on April 15.

Party leaders loyal to Sadiq said that the “differences” in the organisation would be resolved through a joint meeting of the district and city AL committees. Hasanat, president of Barishal district AL, will call the meeting soon, they added.

“As the city Awami League General Secretary Serniabat Sadiq Abdullah has been away from Barishal since the first week of April, the city unit leaders and activists could not join the polls campaign of Khair,” a city AL leader told The Daily Star, wishing anonymity.

City AL President AKM Jahangar said, “We will participate in the polls campaign according to the directives to be given by our guardian Abul Hasanat Abdullah in a joint meeting of the district and metropolitan committees of the party.”