Tower Hamlets

Who getting indirect support from Lutfur Rahman in the seats of Rushanara & Apsana?

July 01, 2024
Who getting indirect support from Lutfur Rahman in the seats of Rushanara & Apsana?
  • Ajmal and Rabina were both previously working with Lutfur Rahman.

After Labor Party leader Keir Starmer gave an example of sending Bangladeshi illegal immigrants back to their country regarding illegal immigrants, there was a strong reaction in Tower Hamlets. Starmer later lamented under pressure, as his team explained. The anger of the Bangladeshis was somewhat mitigated. Anti-Labour sentiment among ordinary voters in Tower Hamlets is stronger than ever over the Palestine issue.

However, the huge possibility of the Labor Party coming to power and Rushanara becoming a minister in the upcoming election has added a different dimension to the election battle.

East London has two Bengali-dominated parliamentary seats within Tower Hamlets Council.

As a single person, the biggest factor in the voting politics of these two seats is Lutfur Rahman, the repeatedly elected Bangladeshi-born mayor.

The outcome will depend to some extent on whether Lutfur Rahman, the much-discussed three-time mayor, will not declare his support for strategic reasons in the end or whether he is supporting a candidate at the last moment. Last-minute analysis among voters is going on. 

Bethnal Green and Stepney constituency independent candidate Ajmal Masroor has been accused by Lutfur Rahman's political party, Aspire, of using the council's executive mayor, Lutfur Rahman,'s picture in his election leaflet without Lutfur or his party's permission.

Aspire Party Chairman K M Abu Taher Chowdhury made such allegations in an official statement and called for the withdrawal of the pictures published without permission from the election leaflets. 

It is known that, using the Palestine issue, Labor Party candidate for Bethnal Green and Bow seat, Rushnara Ali, who has been MP for 14 consecutive years, has challenged the safe seat of Labor by Rabina Khan, the Liberal Democrat candidate who claims to be pro-Palestinian, and Ajmal Masroor, an independent candidate.

Ajmal and Rabina were both previously working with Lutfur Rahman. Currently, it is the supporters of these two candidates who are telling the general public that the mayor has indirect support for them.

However, as the tactician Lutfur did not disclose about supporting any of the two in this seat, Rushanara Ali is getting an extra advantage in that strategy. There are various complaints against Rusnara, including not having direct contact with voters except during the election season and not participating in community activities except during the election. But Labor's strong vote bank in the seat and the secretive tactics of Lutfur Rahman have given Rushanara an extra advantage in vote calculation.

Although the current MP was under a lot of pressure over Rabina, a diligent candidate in this seat, Ajmal's campaign with Lutfur's picture has spread another new confusion in the Bangladeshi community. Taking advantage of this, Rushanara Ali is waiting for a certain victory by at least five thousand votes. While talking to this reporter, Ajmal Mashroor, who used Lutfur Rahman's photo in the campaign, said, "I did not say in my leaflet that the mayor or his team were supporting me.

The Lib Dem candidate for this seat, Rabina Khan, was narrowly defeated in the mayoralty of Tower Hamlets as a candidate supported by Lutfur Rahman in 2015. She told the Daily Dazzling Dawn that Mayor Lutfur Rahman did not support Ajmal Masroor in Thursday's vote, which has been ceremoniously confirmed by his party. 

Apsana Begum is the candidate of the Labor Party in the Poplar Limehouse seat, another parliamentary seat within Tower Hamlets. Apsana's ex-husband, Ehtashamul Haque, is an independent candidate, for a total of eight candidates. In this seat, Lutfur Rahman's large number of supporters are active in publicity for Apsana, a vocal Labor candidate on various issues, including Gaza. Apsana Begum is waiting for a certain victory in this seat as well. 

Tower Hamlets Mayor Lutfur Rahman did not agree to speak in response to the question of whether he is openly or silently supporting someone in the two seats of his constituency.