Most mayoral candidates skip views-exchange meeting in Ctg

Organisers Shushashoner Jannoy Nagorik (SHUJAN) and Shachetan Nagorik Committee delayed by around 45 minutes a views-exchange meeting between the Chittagong City Corporation poll's 12 mayor contestants and over 500 city dwellers but only five showed up in the end at Muslim Hall yesterday.

Most of the absent seven, including Awami League-backed AJM Nasir Uddin, BNP-endorsed M Manjur Alam, and Jatiya Party-supported Md Solaiman Alam Seth, had assured attending "Face the People", scheduled to have begun around 4:00pm, said the organisers. Solaiman said he had "other engagements" while Nasir and Manjur could not reached over their cellphone for comment.

However, the five participants -- MA Matin, Md Wazed Hossain Bhuiyan, Hossain Md Mujibul Haque, Syed Shamsuzoha and Gazi Md Allauddin -- proposed plans and promised to keep the city clean and free from waterlogging and removing mismanagement at the city corporation.

The committee city unit President Delwar Majumder, who presided over the meeting, questioned how the contestants would keep contact with people after the polls if they already felt disinterested.

SHUJAN Chittagong district Secretary Akhter Kabir Chowdhury said they had invited the participants at least 10 times. "But we do not know why they could not take part," he said.

SHUJAN Secretary Badiul Alam Majumdar said deprived of their rights, citizens think the city corporation was not running the way it should.

Citizens should play an effective role verifying the candidates by getting to know their details, he said.