Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) had rebel candidates contesting in 78 constituencies. Of them, candidates from the Jamaat-e-Islami-led 11-party alliance won in 21 constituencies, while BNP rebels secured victory in seven. Altogether, BNP rebel candidates influenced the outcome in 28 constituencies.
The constituencies where BNP or its backed candidates lost to rebels are Mymensingh-1, Dinajpur-5, Cumilla-7, Kishoreganj-5, Tangail-3, Chandpur-4 and Brahmanbaria-2.
BNP joint secretary general Syed Emran Saleh was defeated by a rebel candidate in Mymensingh-1. Contesting with the ‘Dhaner Sheesh’ (sheaf of paddy) symbol, he received 101,926 votes. Rebel candidate Mohammad Salman Omar won with 6,339 more votes.
BNP allies outpaced by rebels
In Dhaka-12, Saiful Haque, general secretary of the Biplobi Workers Party of Bangladesh, contested with BNP backing and finished second with 30,963 votes. BNP rebel candidate Saiful Alam (Nirob) received 29,869 votes. The two of them together received 60,832 votes.
As the votes were split between the BNP-backed candidate and the rebel contender, Jamaat-e-Islami candidate Saiful Alam Khan Milon won the seat with 53,773 votes.
In Brahmanbaria-2, Muhammad Zunaid Al Habib of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam contested the elections with support from the BNP. There, BNP rebel candidate Rumeen Farhana defeated him by a margin of 37,568 votes.
In Sylhet-5, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam president Ubaydullah Faruk, supported by the BNP, received 69,774 votes. The seat was won by Abul Hasan of Khelafat Majlis, a candidate of the Jamaat-led 11 party alliance, who secured 79,355 votes with the wall clock symbol. BNP rebel Mamunur Rashid received 56,369 votes in this constituency.
In Narayanganj-4, the BNP backed Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam candidate Monir Hossain Kasemi. He was defeated by Abdullah Al Amin of the National Citizen Party (NCP), a candidate of the Jamaat-led alliance. Kasemi received 80,619 votes, while Abdullah won with 106,171 votes.
Two BNP rebel candidates, Md Shah Alam and Muhammad Gias Uddin contested in this seat. Shah Alam secured 39,589 votes and Gias received 4,779 votes. Had the votes not been split, Kasemi’s victory was certain.
Left parties to join BNP but still defeated
Redwan Ahmed resigned as secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to join the BNP and to contest in Cumilla-7, but BNP rebel Atikul Alam (Shawon) defeated him by 43,181 votes.
Fariduzzaman Farhad, chairman of the National People’s Party (NPP), joined the BNP and contested in Narail-2, finishing third with 45,463 votes. Jamaat candidate Ataur Rahman won the seat with 72,679 votes, while BNP rebel Monirul Islam came second with 78,457 votes.
Md Rashed Khan resigned as general secretary of the Gono Odhikar Parishad to contest under the BNP’s sheaf of paddy symbol in Jhenaidah-4. He finished third with 56,224 votes. Jamaat candidate Abu Talib won with 105,099 votes, while BNP rebel Md Saiful Islam Firoz received 77,104 votes.
Constituencies where Jamaat benefited due to BNP rebels
Chattogram-16 is a notable one among the 21 constituencies where candidates of the Jamaat-led 11-party alliance benefited because of BNP rebel candidates.
In this constituency, comprising Banshkhali upazila, Jamaat-e-Islami candidate Mohammad Zahirul Islam defeated BNP candidate Miskatul Islam Chowdhury by a margin of 10,062 votes while, BNP rebel candidate Mohammad Liaquat Ali finished third with 55,492 votes.
Pabna-4 is another constituency worth mentioning separately. Jamaat candidate Abu Taleb Mondol won the seat with 137,575 votes. His closest rival, BNP candidate Habibur Rahman, received 133,874 votes, a difference of just 3,701 votes.
In this constituency, BNP rebel candidate Zakaria Pintu secured 27,970 votes. In other words, due to the split in votes caused by the rebel candidate, Habibur lost by a narrow margin.
In Bagerhat-1, Jamaat-e-Islami candidate Mashiur Rahman Khan defeated BNP candidate Kapil Krishna Mondol by 3,204 votes. There were two BNP rebel candidates in this constituency.
One of the rebels, Md Sheikh Masud Rana received 6,467 votes while another rebel MAH Selim obtained 5,283 votes. Together, they secured 11,750 votes. Had these two leaders not contested as rebels, BNP candidate Kapil might have had an advantage.
Similar or parallel incidents occurred in the parliamentary constituencies of Jashore-5, Madaripur-1, Dhaka-14, Satkhira-3, Pabna-3, Sherpur-1, Gaibandha-5, Bagerhat-2 and Bagerhat-4.
In Mymensingh-6, both the BNP and Jamaat had rebel candidates. Jamaat candidate Kamrul Hasan won the seat with 77,325 votes. Jamaat rebel candidate Md Jasim Uddin secured 51,970 votes.
In this same constituency, BNP candidate Akhtarul Alam received 49,476 votes, while BNP rebel candidate Akhtar Sultana obtained 53,331 votes.