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The ruling BNP is in no hurry to name its mayoral candidates for the Dhaka North and South city corporation elections, with the party weighing candidates’ popularity, organisational strength and public acceptability before making a final call, party insiders say.
The two city corporations are seen as a key electoral battleground for all parties, as the capital plays an outsized role in determining the balance of state power.
Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and the National Citizen Party (NCP) have already named their mayoral aspirants for Dhaka, even though the Election Commission (EC) has yet to set a timeframe for the city polls.
The EC has, however, announced a schedule for union parishad elections, to be held in phases from 12 November to 27 May next year, and is drafting a plan for phased upazila parishad elections.
An EC official said the upazila polls could take more than three months, after which city corporation elections might follow within the next year.
Given this likely delay, a senior BNP standing committee member, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the party sees no urgency in announcing its Dhaka candidates.
The party has appointed administrators to all 11 city corporations nationwide, including Shafiqul Islam Khan in Dhaka North and Abdus Salam in Dhaka South, who are considered the frontrunners for their respective mayoral nominations unless their performance falters significantly.
Salam, an experienced organiser and former acting mayor, currently serves on the BNP chairman’s Advisory Council.
Shafiqul, vice-president of Jubo Dal, had contested the Dhaka-15 seat in the last election but lost to Jamaat Ameer Shafiqur Rahman.
Other names are also in contention. BNP Joint Secretary General Habibunnabi Khan Sohel and State Minister for Liberation War Affairs Ishraque Hossain are being considered for Dhaka South, while MA Quayum, the party’s Central Microcredit Affairs Secretary and a former Dhaka North unit president, and Tabith Awal, an executive committee member and former BNP-backed mayoral candidate, are in the running for Dhaka North.
A standing committee member said the party’s policymaking body has found no significant progress by the two administrators in addressing residents’ problems.
Against that backdrop, the source suggested Tabith Awal and Habibunnabi Khan Sohel could yet emerge as the party’s candidates for Dhaka North and South respectively, adding there is still time to decide.
The source noted that while Jamaat and NCP have already finalised their candidates, the BNP is deliberately going slow, since the city polls are likely still a year off.
The party will also weigh the political and electoral climate in the capital before making any announcement, the source said.
Because the elections will be held without party symbols, the BNP may not formally declare its candidates but could instead extend informal support.
Abdus Salam told the Daily Sun he expects to be nominated as the party-backed candidate for Dhaka South.
“I am working to address problems now being faced by the city dwellers, and at the same time, I am continuing a mass contact campaign as a mayoral aspirant,” he said, adding that he is confident of securing the party’s backing.
A close aide to Dhaka North administrator Shafiqul Islam Khan said he is currently recovering from back surgery abroad and unavailable to speak to the media, though he continues low-key campaigning alongside his official duties.
He is expected to contest the mayoral race and remains active in election-related work every Friday and Saturday, with fresh campaign instructions expected next week, the aide said.
The vote will be the first Dhaka city election held without party symbols in roughly 11 years, making candidates’ personal image and credibility, rather than party affiliation, the decisive factor for voters.