JP factions face off centring mayoral poll

Two feuding factions of Jatiya Party (JP-Ershad) in the district are now facing off centring the ensuing municipality election.

Sources said Shawkat Chowdhury, party's district convenor, also lawmaker from Nilphamari-4 constituency and opposition whip in parliament, is leading a faction and supporting the party's member secretary Sazzad Parvez as mayor candidate.

President of district unit of Sramik Jote Bazlar Rahman is a stalwart of the faction.

The rival faction, led by joint convener of the party and former lawmaker Jafar Iqbal Siddiquee, has strong support for Mahbub Ali Bulu for his candidature in mayor post.

President of district unit of Jatiyo Chhatra Samaj Abdul Hannan also belongs to this faction.

A meeting called at the local party office for choosing a mayoral candidate for the municipality and fixing up the date for district conference was foiled as the factions locked in a fierce clash last week.

The clash left injured four people including member secretary Sazzad Parvez and former president of district unit of Jatiya Chhatra Samaj Saiful Alam Suja.

Since then, the district party office has remained locked while both groups continued flexing muscles and arranged showdowns in the town calling separate processions and meetings.

Jafar Iqbal Siddiquee, who is leading a faction, said convener Shawkat Chowdhury wants to nominate Sazzad Parvez as mayoral candidate unilaterally, considering his loyalty to him.

Chhatra Samaj leader Abdul Hannan of the same group said, "We need Mahbub Ali Bulu as mayoral candidate to curb autocracy of the party's district convener."

Contacted, JP district convener Shawkat Chowdhury said Sazzad Parvez as member secretary of the party deserves nomination for the mayoral post.

Both Mahbub Ali Bulu and Sazzad Parvez claimed to be the deserving person as candidate for the mayoral post.

Amid serious rivalry between the two JP factions, locals have expressed fear of further clash in the area.