The incumbent Barishal City Corporation (BCC) Mayor Serniabat Sadiq Abdullah, also the secretary of Awami League city unit, did not cast his vote in Monday's city corporation polls despite his own uncle Abul Khair being a candidate from the ruling Awami League.
The incumbent did not cast his own vote as part of his rivalry with the party’s mayoral candidate. He had been staying outside the Barishal city since the campaign started on 26 May and did not return on the polling day on Monday.
Sadiq Abdullah, a son of Awami League lawmaker Abul Hasnat Abdullah, had also been working against the party candidate as he had not been nominated as the BCC mayoral candidate again in this election.
It was also alleged that Sadiq Abdullah had also been patronising another mayoral candidate, Mufti Syed Mohammad Faizul Karim, who is also the chief of Islami Andolan Bangladesh, so that Awami League candidate could not with the election.
Mir Amin Uddin, former general secretary of Barishal city unit Awami League and member of Abul Khair's election management committee, told the media that Sadiq Abdullah was instructed not to come to Barishal before the elections from the higher-ups of the party.
Sadiq Abdullah's uncle Abul Khair Abdullah alias Khokon Serniabat has been nominated by the Awami League for the post of mayor in the Barishal city elections.
There was a conflict between the uncle and nephew over Khair's nomination.
Meanwhile, Khair Abdullah carried out the entire election activities with his leaders and workers.
According to party sources, Khair Abdullah's elder brother Abul Hasanat Abdullah is a Member of Parliament from Barisal-1 (Gournadi and Agailjhara) Constituency. He is a voter of his constituency.
Earlier on Sunday, Abul Khair Abdullah told the media, "Everyone in the party is working with me with confidence in my leadership. Whoever there is a conflict with, I am trying to work together. Whether others work with me or not is their personal matter."
The AL candidate refused to make a comment on whether Sadiq would vote in the election.
A total of seven mayor candidates contested for the BCC election. Of them, four candidates were from different political parties. They are AL backed Abul Khair Abdullah alias Khokon Sherniabat, Islami Andolon Bangladesh backed Mufti Syed Mohammad Faizul Karim, Jatiya Party backed Engineer Iqbal Hossain Taposh and Zaker Party backed Md Mizanur Rahman Bachhu,
Besides, there were three other independents - Md Kamrul Hassan Rupon, Md Ali Hossain Hawlader and Asaduzzaman.
