AL's Khaleque using black money in electioneering, alleges JaPa candidate
Talukder Abdul Khaleque, the ruling Awami League-nominated mayoral candidate for Khulna city polls, is spending black money on election funding, his rival Jatiya Party-nominated candidate Shafiqul Islam Madhu has alleged.
"Check Khaleque Talukder's bank account and inquire about his belongings… For many parties [Awami League], as many as 200-300 workers are running campaigns in each ward. But with the budget fixed by the Election Commission, it is not possible to make so many people work. So where is the source of this money?" Shafiqul Islam Madhu told reporters at a publicity campaign in the city's Sonadanga area on Saturday.
"Black money is spreading across Khulna city. It should be properly investigated," said Madhu, adding that Khaleque has employed many people in electioneering with the aim of winning the polls by any means, be it vote-rigging or help from the administration.
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Madhu pledged to turn Khulna into a modern city, and urged voters to come to the polling centres on the election day on 12 June and vote for the right candidate.
Talukder Abdul Khaleque, however, refuted such claims of using black money in election campaigns, and raised similar allegations against the rival JaPa candidate.
"Spreading black money is possible for a candidate like Madhu. We do not have any black money spreading in Khulna. They [Madhu] can show evidence of it, if they can. If they have such money, they can spread it," Khaleque said at a campaign in the city's Banargati area.
The ruling party candidate further said that the residents of Khulna city are aware of the development done by the Awami League government, far better compared to the ruling of Jatiya Party's late President HM Ershad.
As many as 5,35,529 voters are expected to exercise their franchise in this year's Khulna city polls scheduled for 12 June.
