Mohammad Al-Masum Molla

The next few months are perhaps going to be the toughest test for Awami League’s resilience in recent history.

The awkwardness of the BNP-Jamaat relationship that emerged over a year is apparently fading with Jamaat deciding to join the BNP’s one-point simultaneous movement to oust the government.

The country has been seeing a worsening plastic waste problem over the last decade and a half, and recently, a small step has been taken towards possible mitigation.

It is interesting to note that the restrictions target a section of society that covets the US visa.

The BNP now plans to focus on one point: resignation of the Awami League government.

Development activities carried out by suspended Gazipur mayor Zahangir Alam, his close ties with the local Awami League leaders and activists and the voters’ sympathy for him were the main reasons for his mother’s victory in the mayoral polls, said voters.

Zahangir’s charisma paid off and got his mother to the mayor’s office.

It all happened quietly. There were hardly any polling agents for Zaida Khatun. Even her supporters could barely be seen in the largest city corporation of the country. Even during the campaign, her posters were rarely seen.

In a crucial battle of egos for the ruling Awami League, Gazipur city goes to polls to pick its mayor and councillors today, just a few months ahead of the general election.

The time for electioneering in the Gazipur City Corporation election ended at midnight with very little campaigning done by candidates running for the mayor’s office.

If a person travels to Gazipur city, he or she may not realise that the election to the largest city in Bangladesh is on Thursday.

One recent comment by Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal caught the attention of many.

The BNP starts countrywide anti-government demonstrations today and it plans to make the final push in July.

Geographical location, wind speed, and a storm surge are the features that make Cyclone Mocha different from the recent cyclones that hit Bangladesh, meteorologists say.

Weather conditions in May create a perfect recipe for cyclones in the Bay of Bengal

Zahangir’s mother, who has never been in politics, is contesting for the mayoral post.

The BNP will announce a series of fresh anti-government programmes within the next few days. However, the party is not likely to go for tough agitation at the beginning of this phase of the movement.

None of the Gazipur mayors, whether from the Awami League or the BNP, could serve the city corporation for the entirety of their five-year terms.

Two earthquakes with epicentres very close to Dhaka jolted the capital in a span of just 11 days, raising concerns among leading experts about more quakes and the country’s preparedness.

It appears, then, that the Awami League’s bold rhetoric of development and prosperity, transparency and good governance, and fostering democracy is rendered hollow by its own partymen – unwittingly or not.