Rangpur belongs to 'plough' as long as I am alive, Ershad tells AL
Wednesday, 24 December 2008
RANGPUR, Dec 23 (UNB): Jatiya Party (JP) Chairman HM Ershad Tuesday asked Awami League (AL) "not to put its hands in Rangpur" which he claimed belonged to his party's election symbol 'plough.'
"Rangpur belongs to plough as long as I am alive, if you want to contest elections with boat (you) go to Dhaka," an apparently agitated Ershad said referring to Awami League which heads the grand alliance of which his JP is a leading partner.
The former military ruler made the remarks while addressing projection meetings for the December 29 parliamentary elections in five places of Rangpur's Mithamoin Upazila (Rangpur-5).
Ershad, who had been playing hot and cold with the AL over seat sharing since entering electoral alliance with Sheikh Hasina recently, also urged local AL candidate Ashiqur Rahman to stand down from contest in favour of the JP candidate HM Fakhar-uz-Zaman.
Ashiqur has refused to withdraw from the contest in the constituency causing local discontent among the JP workers.
"Rangpur belongs to plough as long as I am alive, if you want to contest elections with boat (you) go to Dhaka," an apparently agitated Ershad said referring to Awami League which heads the grand alliance of which his JP is a leading partner.
The former military ruler made the remarks while addressing projection meetings for the December 29 parliamentary elections in five places of Rangpur's Mithamoin Upazila (Rangpur-5).
Ershad, who had been playing hot and cold with the AL over seat sharing since entering electoral alliance with Sheikh Hasina recently, also urged local AL candidate Ashiqur Rahman to stand down from contest in favour of the JP candidate HM Fakhar-uz-Zaman.
Ashiqur has refused to withdraw from the contest in the constituency causing local discontent among the JP workers.