It was 2013. The then popular mayor of Barishal City Corporation Shawkat Hossain Hiran of Awami League lost to BNP`s Ahsan Habib Kamal by only 17,000 votes.
Same incident happened in other three cities as political experts then claimed it was a wind blew following the calculation of national politics. Doing outstanding developmental works, the mayoral candidates of ruling party had to be defeated.
The followers of Abul Khair Abdullah alias Khokon Serniabat, the mayoral candidate of ruling party’s boat symbol, fear a repeat of the same incident after a decade.
Many leaders and workers at the field level think that Barisal Awami League may face same fate as Gazipur City Corporation election due to the internal conflict of local Awami League.
Abdur Rahman, presidium member of Awami League and a member of the central coordination team formed on the occasion of the Barisal City election, however, claimed that there is no room for dichotomy in the party. What division was there has been resolved, everyone is united, he added.
Talking to several local Awami League leaders and some politically aware people, it is known that the absolute power of Awami League in Barisal division is in the hands of Abul Hasanat Abdullah, cousin of the Prime Minister and Member of Parliament of Barisal-1 Constituency.
It is difficult to imagine the politics of the ruling party here without him. The crisis is still present over the nomination of his brother Khokon Serniabat keeping his son, the current mayor of Serniabat Sadiq Abdullah aside, is still not over.
Although the party has repeatedly announced to work for the candidate of boat, Hasanat Abdullah`s followers have doubts about who they will vote for.
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