Dhaka: Mayoral candidates BNP leader Abdus Salam, Awami League former lawmaker Sarah Begum Kabari and Bobby Hajjaj on Thursday backed off from the Dhaka city elections. Abdus Salam withdrew his candidature from Dhaka South City polls, while Kabari and Bobby Hajjaj from Dhaka North City elections on the last day of the withdrawal of candidature.

Former Dhaka city BNP member secretary Abdus Salam quit the polls race apparently as he failed to get his party’s support. BNP has already extended its support to party standing committee member and its Dhaka city unit convener Mirza Abbas.

Salam was a former deputy mayor of the undivided Dhaka City.

Bobby Hajja, a former special advisor to Jatiya Party chairman HM Ershad who relieved Bobby of the post as he announced to contest the DNC mayoral race defying the party decision, too quit the race for city elections. Jatiya Party endorsed Bahauddin Ahmed as the party’s DNCC mayoral contender.

Popular film actress Kabari withdrew her candidature apparently having failed to get the Awami League support, which earlier threw its weight behind businessman Annisul Huq to vie for the DNC mayoral post.

However, no one of the 12 mayoral candidates in Chittagong City election quit the election race.

With the withdrawal of the three candidatures, the number of mayoral candidates now came down to 23 in the DSC and 17 in DNC.

Earlier on 18 March, the Election Commission announced election schedules for the DSC, DNC and CCC fixing April 28 for balloting.