Ctg-5, 6, 7: Apprehension looms large among voters

Come election time, the country usually remains abuzz with people gossiping, speculating and above all showing their allegiance to the party of their preference.

The endless conversations regarding which party has the strongest support or better candidates or who will come out on top -- the nearer the election gets, the passionate the people become.

And the debates really heat up over a cup of tea at local tea stalls.

But this time it's quite different in Chattogram. With only a week left before the 11th parliamentary election, people seemed to be hesitant to speak their mind.

The Daily Star in the last two days visited several constituencies outside the port city and tried to speak to people about the upcoming election. A collective sense of apprehension regarding the polls prevailed among prospective voters.

The first stop was Rangunia upazila (Chattogram-7). Though reluctant, some locals eventually spoke to this correspondent.

“People won't turn up at polling centres if a secure environment is not ensured,” said Abul Hasem, a resident of Mirerkhil village of Sharaf Bhata union. This correspondent met him at a tea stall in the area.

“There was a time when people sacrificed lives to realise their voting rights. Those days are long gone. We had a purpose back then, a goal to achieve,” said the 70-year-old freedom fighter.

“Now, it's about power and money. Who would want to lose life to exercise his/her franchise these days?” he said. “People are afraid that violence might break out on the election day.”

Nizam Uddin, a teacher at Sharaf Bhata Union High School, echoed him. “With only a few days left before the election, all we see is ruling party candidates campaigning. There are no signs of others. If such situation prevails, the election could be a one-sided one.”

Though there were quite a few people there, they did not want to share their views.

In Chandraghona area of the constituency, Farid Uddin, a local, said, “Other than the ruling party candidate, we don't even know who are contesting. They [opposition candidate] might exist on paper but not in the field.”

“As the election approaches, we fear clashes might break out if the opposition takes a stand. Also, outsiders might create trouble on the election day,” he said.

After hesitation, Kamal Uddin, a resident of Sharaf Bhata union, said, “All parties must be given equal opportunity. Most importantly, they should try to evade violence, so that the election could be festive again.”

Hasan Mahmud, publicity secretary of Awami League, and BNP-led alliance's Md Nurul Alam are contesting from Chattogram-7.

On Thursday, Nurul Alam at a press conference at Chattogram Press Club expressed doubt over holding a free and fair election and alleged that rivals are not allowing his supporters to campaign.

Contacted, Shamsul Alam Talukder, general secretary of Rangunia unit AL, said, “We are busy with our campaign. We don't have time to disrupt anyone else's campaign. Their allegations are totally groundless.”

Though few people in Rangunia preferred to talk, people of Chattogram-6 (Raozan) remained tight lipped about the election.

While visiting Bagoyan Union of the upazila on Wednesday, locals expressed doubt about a peaceful environment on election day. Preferring anonymity, they said the prevailing scenario could change after army deployment.

This correspondent also spoke to people at Pahartoli, Mahmuduzzaman, Pother Hat and Noapara areas of Raozan upazila, where they feared that the election could be marred by violence.

They said the “election field” is mostly dominated by the ruling party candidates and their activists, leaving little scope for others to campaign or allow their supporters to share opinions.

Almost the same situation prevailed in Hathazari upazila (Chattogram-5).

Wishing anonymity, a tea stall owner at Modunaghat Bazar said, “Many locals have tea at my stall. But only a handful talks about election. Even I don't encourage them out of fear of being harassed.”

Anisul Islam Mahmud of AL-led alliance and Oikyafront's Syed Mohammad Ibrahim, also chairman of Kalyan Party, are contesting the polls from Chattogram-5.

Though Anisul is campaigning in full swing, hardly any presence of other candidates could be seen in the area.

“Wherever I'm going, I'm getting overwhelming response from people,” Anisul told The Daily Star on Thursday.

When asked about allegations that opposition candidates are not being allowed to campaign, he said, “It's baseless. They are not barred from campaigning. It's up to them whether they want to campaign or not.”

Contacted yesterday afternoon, Syed Mohammad Ibrahim said, “I can't talk now. I'm at a police station,” and hung up.

This correspondent was able to get in touch with him in the evening. “My supporters are unable to campaign due to harassment from law enforcers. Police are marking my followers during daytime and arresting them at night,” he alleged. “I went to Hathazari Police Station to talk about the issue.”

Asked, Belal Jahangir, officer-in-charge of the police station, said, “His claims are not true. We are not arresting anyone without warrant.”