Despite a formal request from the BNP-led 20-party Alliance, the Jamaat-e-Islami has made it clear that it will not withdraw its mayoral candidate for the Sylhet city polls.
“There’s no option,” Nayeb-e-Amir Mia Golam Parwar told Bangla Tribune on Saturday, hours after the BNP-led coalition’s formal request was made.
In a meeting last week, the coalition agreed to back and campaign for single candidates for the Jul 30 city corporation elections in Rajshahi, Sylhet and Barisal.
But BNP’s key ally Jamaat has floated a candidate in Sylhet. And the BNP has already announced that the incumbent mayor has got the ticket for the election.
Bangla Tribune had then reported that despite a phone call from acting BNP chief Tarique Rahman to one of its senior leaders, the party refused to pull out its candidate
“There’s not much time, we are in the election and will be until the end. That’s what the party agreed on,” Parwar, who sits on Jamaat’s policymaking forum, said on Saturday.
According to him, the ‘deadline’ for a formal request has ended. “Prior to filing the nomination, we made it clear during a one-to-one meeting with the BNP secretary general. There had been talks after that, but they did not consider. (BNP) is a large party and different opinions, good or bad, are only natural.”
Earlier on Saturday, leaders of 20-party Alliance requested Jammat to pull out from the election during a meeting, after which BNP leader Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said he was hopeful.

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