Awami League has expelled Gazipur’s former mayor Zahangir Alam from the party for his polls campaign against the party’s candidate for the city corporation election.
The expulsion of Zahangir, a former general secretary of Awami League’s Gazipur metropolitan unit, will come into effect immediately.
But Zahangir’s mother Jayeda Khatun is competing as an independent candidate and Zahangir is campaigning for her and even speaking against Awami League.
According to the sources, the leaders in the meeting mentioned that Zahangir was earlier expelled from the party for making controversial remarks about Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and number of the martyrs in the Liberation War. His expulsion order was later withdrawn as he had apologised. Zahangir again violated party discipline by submitting nomination form as independent candidate after failing to get party ticket.
Earlier in 2013, Zahangir ran the mayoral election as independent candidate defying the party’s decision.
At one point, all the presidium members reached a consensus about expelling Zahangir permanently from the party. The meeting decided that party’s general secretary Obaidul Quader would convey the decision of the presidium members in writing to the party president Sheikh Hasina.
AL sources said the Obaidul Quader on the day informed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina about the suggestion of the presidium committee regarding Zahangir. She gave consent on the decision.