Dilemma for AL in Kushtia-2

Hasanul Haq Inu(L), Mahbubul Alam Hanif

But they are confident of capturing the seat from BNP if a consensus candidate is fielded.

Awami League (AL) leader Mahbubul Alam Hanif and Jatyia Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) president and one of the key leaders of 14-party alliance Hasanul Haq Inu are vying for nomination from the constituency.

None filed nomination till yesterday, awaiting a decision in Dhaka, sources in AL and JSD said.

Hanif, vice-president of Kushtia district AL contested from the constituency in 1996 and 2001 elections but lost to BNP's Sahidul Islam.

Hanif scaled down the vote difference in last election when he lost with a marginal vote.

Political analysts said if nominated in the coming election, Hanif will be able to put up a tough fight to 4-party alliance candidate immediate past BNP lawmaker Sahidul Islam, allegedly because of internal feud in BNP and his (Shahidul) declining popularity.

Sahidul won the seat in three election including the February 15 controversial polls in 1996.

According to district election office, Hanif got 28544 votes in 1996 election and 87,734 in 2001 election. Sahidul bagged 64,389 votes in 1996 and 100,544 in 2001. Sahidul got nearly 40,000 votes of BNP's ally Jamaat-e-Islami in 2001 election, they claimed.

On the other hand, JSD leader Hasanul Haq Inu ran in the constituency in 1991, 1996 and 2001 elections and got 21,411, 26327 and 38,877 votes respectively.

The analysts said the Awami League-led grand alliance may nominate Inu in the coming election only considering the present row between local Jamaat and BNP leadership over ticket.

The BNP-Jamaat difference has widened after Jamaat leader Abdul Wahid submitted nomination paper on Wednesday, ignoring BNP. Former lawmaker Sahidul Islam and another BNP leaderindustrialist MA Khaleque-- filed nomination papers to contest from the seat.

But the ticket is yet to be announced.

Jamaat is demanding the seat for long, claiming that BNP leader Sahidul will not able to win this time due to his alleged irregularities, nepotism and displeasure of Jamaat activists he earned in last five years.

Banking on 4-party alliance's 'troubled position', 14-party leaders thinks they can capture the seat in the coming election.

They also count support from Jatyia Party (Ershad), which has a good number of votes despite its weak organisational strength. JP will not demand a candidate in the area, they said.

JP candidate Ahsan Habib Linkon got 24,695 votes in 1991 election, 40,106 in 1996 and 25,334 in 2001.

This calculation gives a hopeful picture for 14-party alliance, its leaders said.

This correspondent during a visit to the area on Sunday talked to many leaders and activists of AL, BNP, JP and JSD, and also voters. AL leaders were found soft on Inu's claim for nomination.

General voters were not rigid in choosing between Inu and Hanif, saying both have good images in the area.

If a consensus candidate is fielded, the AL-led alliance has a fair chance to win the seat, many of them said.

They said Hanif has vote banks in certain pockets because he is a diehard AL leader. Inu, if nominated, will also have to depend on AL vote, they said.