Feuds behind poor AL show: Amu

Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu has said dissidence and factional feuds have contributed to the Awami League (AL)’s poor show in the 4th Upazila (UZ) Parishad elections, specially in the first three rounds of voting. "We are responsible for our party’s poor show," Amu told a party event at the Krishibid Institute, Bangladesh, in the city. But AL General Secretary and LGRD Minister Syed Ashraful Islam claimed the party had recovered much ground in the later phase of the current UZ polls. At the end of the fourth phase voting, AL-backed candidates had won 177 but candidates backed by the BNP-led 19-party alliance had netted 183 chairmen posts. "We have not lost out in the polls, we have been undone by rebel candidates," said Amu. Ashraful Islam admitted that in the first few phases of the 4th UZ polls, the AL-backed candidates did not fare well. But he pointed out that his party had managed to close the gap substantially in the 4th round of balloting. Amu said there were less number of rebel candidates in third and fourth phases of the polls – hence AL could improve its performance, according to bdnews24.com.