National Citizen Party (NCP) has begun a ten-day election campaign with a visit to the grave of July martyr Wasim in Lohagara of Chattogram.
Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain, chairman of NCP’s Election Conduct Committee, shared this information while speaking to journalists in front of its temporary party office in Banglamotor on Sunday night.
He said, “We will hold street rallies not only in the constituencies of our party candidates but also in cities where the NCP is strong. We are contesting 30 seats on behalf of the 11-party alliance in the upcoming 13th parliamentary election.
He added, “Our primary focus for the campaign is governance, reform, and sovereignty. Additionally, we will campaign to ensure the success of the ‘Yes’ vote. At the rallies, we will present what kind of Bangladesh we wish to see and various aspects of our manifesto. We will publish our manifesto within the next week.”
Regarding the overall election situation, Asif Mahmud further said, “We are concerned about the exertion of influence. We are witnessing attempts to influence the courts. Previously, those in power tried to exert influence by sending 40 to 50 lawyers.
“However, we are currently seeing attempts to create a ‘mob’ by bringing in people from the peripheral areas of various constituencies. Dual citizens have been given the opportunity to become candidates. We have taken legal action to ensure that dual citizens are not allowed to contest the election,” he said.
He continued, “We had hoped that after the July uprising, the fourth pillar of the state, journalism, will work independently. However, the names of journalists from various newspapers and television channels are appearing on the pad of a political party. For independent journalism, names appearing on a party pad is alarming.
“A party’s campaign is being conducted under the guise of advertisements. We fear there is no level playing field here. If there is an opportunity to conduct party campaigns in the media in the form of advertisements, then all parties, including ‘Shapla Koli’ and ‘Daripalla’, should be given the opportunity”.
Asif Mahmud added, “We will work for the candidates of all parties in the alliance through this campaign. We have thought about spreading our voice in different directions instead of going in one direction together. We will campaign for our party candidates as well as those of the alliance.”
Election Management Committee Secretary Monira Sharmin, Chief Coordinator Advocate Tarikul Islam, and other central leaders of the NCP were present at the time.
