Awami League (AL) General Secretary Obaidul Quader today said the party leaders can contest in the forthcoming 12th general elections as independent candidates if they want to do so.

“Many may have ill-efforts to make the polls questionable. For tactical reasons, the AL leaders have been given approval to become independent candidates,” he told a function at AL President’s Dhanmondi political office here.

The function was arranged to handover letters to the AL leaders, who got the party’s nomination to contest in the upcoming general election.

Quader said there is nothing unclear in the speech that AL Nomination Board chairman and AL President Sheikh Hasina gave to the AL candidates at Ganabhaban on Sunday.

She told everything clearly that those who want to become candidates as her guideline, will be dummy candidates, he said.
So, the AL general secretary said, there is no bar to becoming candidates by following these guidelines given by the AL President.
About the AL-nominated candidates, Quader said the party tickets have been given to only those who have the ability to win in the polls.

He said the government is trying to hold a peaceful election, but the opposition party is obstructing it.

Claiming that the ruling party never wants violence in the country, the AL general secretary said: “If a special party joins the polls, would the election be a participatory one? About 25-30 political parties will join the elections. If BNP does not participate in it, many BNP leaders will be ready to join the polls.”

Mentioning that BNP is going to avoid the next polls, sensing that it will not be able to win, he said it would be clear within November 30 next about those who are joining the elections from the BNP.
Quader said the Awami League did not announce candidates for two seats due to the party’s strategic reason, while the decision will be taken after looking at the advantage of the electoral alliance.

“There is an issue of adjustment-accommodation. The party (AL) will finalise those,” he added.
Earlier, in the morning, Quader on behalf of the AL paid tribute to martyr Dr Shamsul Alam Khan Milon on his death anniversary.

AL presidium member Jahangir Kabir Nanak, joint general secretary and information and broadcasting minister Dr Hasan Mahmud and joint general secretary AFM Bahauddin Nasim, organising secretaries Abu Sayeed Al Mahmud Shwapan, Mirza Azam, SM Kamal Hossain, Afzal Hossain, and Shafiul Alam Chowdhury, liberation war affairs secretary Mrinal Kanti Das, culture affairs secretary Asim Kumar Ukil, office secretary Barrister Biplab Barua, deputy publicity secretary Syed Abdul Awal Shamim and deputy office secretary Sayem Khan, among others, were present.

Responding to a statement given by BNP senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, Quader said mass tide continues in the country in favour of the polls, which cannot be halted by sporadic bomb attacks.

-BSS.