Crowd throngs AL office as nomination form sale continues
The party asked its members not to bring too many people to the office while buying forms, but a large crowd prevented Obaidul Quader from entering
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A large crowd lingered at the Awami League office on Sunday, the second day of the nomination form sale for the upcoming 12th general election. It prevented General Secretary Obaidul Quader from entering the party office.
Quader made three attempts in half an hour to enter the office on Bangabandhu Avenue and returned to the party chief’s political office in Dhanmondi.
The Awami League leaders ignored the party directive and each of them arrived with a large group of supporters, creating trouble.
Quader went to the central office on Bangabandhu Avenue around 11:30 am. His car could not enter the alley leading to the office from the main road. Then he tried to walk to the office but the large crowd thwarted his attempt.
He tried again after 10 minutes but that too proved to be futile. The general secretary tried again later, but the crowd had grown even larger by then. An annoyed Quader refrained from getting out of the car and left the premises. He then went to the party chief’s office in Dhanmondi, said Awami League Deputy Office Secretary Sayem Khan.
On Saturday, the Awami League started its nomination form sale for the upcoming election. Earlier, the ruling party asked potential candidates not to bring too many people to the office while buying the forms.
After Awami League chief and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the form sale, the crowd began to throng the party office.
Besides buying the forms in person, the candidates can buy them online this year, but most of the leaders arrived on Bangabandhu Avenue with activists and supporters to buy the forms.
As many as 1,074 people bought the nomination forms on the first day, said Deputy Office Secretary Sayem Khan. At least 1,060 people bought the forms in person and 14 bought them online.
The Awami League nomination forms can be submitted by 4 pm on Tuesday. The party election board will analyse the applications and decide on the nominations.
The ruling party will also sell the nomination forms for the constituencies it left for the allies in the last general election. Sharing seats with the allies will be decided later, according to the party leaders.
The price for Awami League nomination forms has been increased to Tk 50,000 from Tk 30,000 earlier.