Probe necessary about why one party occupied all chairs, gathered sticks: Mahdi Amin

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) election steering committee spokesperson and adviser to the party chairman has stated that the incident surrounding the election manifesto announcement programme in Sherpur is in no way acceptable.

Mahdi Amin further said the authorities must urgently investigate whether the conflict could have been avoided.

He questioned why one party occupied all the chairs before the scheduled time, why its supporters gathered sticks at the venue and why the party’s candidate chose a path of confrontation despite repeated collective requests to avoid conflict.

He made these remarks on Thursday afternoon while responding to journalists questions at a press conference held at the BNP election steering committee office in Gulshan, Dhaka.

Mahdi Amin said that the local administration in Sherpur had organised an election manifesto announcement programme with the participation of all candidates.

The organisers had allocated seating for each party. However, leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami occupied all the seats and prevented BNP leaders and activists from sitting in their designated places. Despite repeated request from the administration, they refused to vacate the chairs.

He said the violence and clashes that occurred in Sherpur over such a trivial issue as seating were completely undesirable. Following the mass uprising, he added, everyone had expected an election environment that would be festive rather than confrontational.

Mahdi Amin called for elections to remain free from controversy and peaceful, and urged that no one be allowed to create a confrontational situation surrounding the electoral process.

He described the Sherpur incident as highly unfortunate and said many questions had naturally arisen, including how the incident began, who instigated it, and why the administration and law enforcement agencies failed to stabilise the situation.

Mahdi Amin said, “We have seen several videos on social media showing that the Jamaat candidate was repeatedly requested by the police, the administration, law enforcement agencies, the army and even BNP leaders and activists not to proceed along that route. Why, then, did he decide to go that way regardless? We repeatedly heard him say, ‘Let lives be lost if necessary.’”

The BNP leader reported that more than 40 BNP leaders and activists sustained injuries, several of whom remain in critical condition.

Mahdi Amin urged the administration and law enforcement agencies to play a stronger role. He also appealed to all concerned not to provoke others or fall victim to provocation.

He said all political parties must act responsibly and extend full cooperation to the administration.

On Wednesday afternoon, clashes broke out between BNP and Jamaat leaders and activists in the Sherpur-3 (Sreebardi–Jhenaigati) constituency. One Jamaat leader died in the incident.

The clash occurred during an election manifesto reading programme organised by the Jhenaigati upazila administration, centering on a dispute over seating arrangements.

The deceased, Maulana Rezaul Karim, served as secretary of the Sreebardi upazila Jamaat and worked as a lecturer at Fatehpur Fazil Madrasah. At least 30 people from both sides sustained injuries in the clash in Jhenaigati.