The ruling Awami League has instructed its lawmakers and ministers to ask their family members and close relatives to withdraw their nomination papers for the upazila elections that will start in phases on May 8.

The party high-ups also warned that organisational actions would be taken if any minister or lawmaker interfered.

The election will be held in 150 upazilas in the first phase.

AL organising secretary Abu Sayeed Al Mahmud Swapon, who was coordinating the party’s Chittagong division, told New Age that he had already instructed Noakhali-4 AL lawmaker Ekramul Karim Chowdhury to withdraw the nomination paper for his son.

Ekramul recently threatened to halt development projects if his son Shabab Chowdhury was not voted in the upazila parishad polls in Subarnachar upazila of Noakhali.

A video of Ekramul making the threat went viral on social media.

Several leaders of the Awami League said a letter from the party’s central office was sent to several ministers and lawmakers with the instruction to withdraw the nomination papers of their family members and relatives.

In the first phase of the local body polls, family members of at least 14 lawmakers have become candidates.

They include the brother-in-law of the state minister of information and communications technology, Zunaid Ahmed Palak, after an alleged abduction of his rival candidate in Natore’s Singra upazila.

AL leaders said that party president and prime minister Sheikh Hasina reacted angrily as the threat and allegation of abduction hit the headlines.

She called the party general secretary, Obaidul Quader, and gave him instructions regarding family members and close relatives of ministers and lawmakers, they said.

After the meeting with the party chief on Thursday, Obaidul Quader held an informal meeting with the organising secretaries of the party at the party president’s political office in Dhanmondi.

The AL office secretary and deputy office secretary were also present there.

At the meeting, Quader asked the organising secretaries and office secretaries to prepare the list of relatives and family members of ministers and lawmakers contesting the upazila polls.

At that time, the organising secretaries immediately made phone calls to AL presidium member and Madaripur-2 lawmaker Shajahan Khan and Ekramul Karim Chowdhury of Noakhali to convey the message as their sons were contesting the polls.

The last date for withdrawal of candidature for the first phase is April 22.

The AL leaders said that there could be a meeting of AL’s parliamentary party ahead of the second session of the 12th parliament that was beginning on May 2.

In that meeting, the prime minister may give some direct instructions to the party lawmakers regarding upazila polls, the party leaders said.