BNP chairman Tarique Rahman: Received some undesirable reports from different places, which are unacceptable
After casting his vote, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairman Tarique Rahman said, “Today, the people of Bangladesh will exercise their rights and usher in a democratic Bangladesh.”
“I personally strongly believe that if people across Bangladesh come out today and exercise their rights by voting, Insha’Allah, any conspiracy can be thwarted,” he added.
Tarique Rahman made these remarks after voting at the Gulshan Model High School and College polling centre in Gulshan-2 this Thursday morning. He arrived at the centre around 9:30 am and spoke to reporters around 9:45 am.
Commenting on reports from last night, Tarique Rahman said, “I haven’t received updates from all over Bangladesh yet. However, we did receive some undesirable reports from various places last night, which are unacceptable. We firmly believe that law enforcement authorities have acted very strictly to suppress such incidents, as we saw on TV until early this morning.”
Answering journalists’ questions, he said, “Voting has just started. How can I comment on the end result now? But Insha’Allah, I remain hopeful and optimistic.”
Tarique Rahman emphasised that if BNP comes to power, improving law and order across the country will be a top priority. “Ensuring that ordinary citizens feel safe is our highest priority,” he said.
Highlighting gender inclusivity, he added, “Half of Bangladesh’s population is women. You cannot move forward leaving half of the population behind. If we form the government, we will work from day one to value and empower women.”
Gulshan-2 falls under the Dhaka-17 parliamentary constituency, where Tarique Rahman is also contesting as the BNP candidate. He was accompanied by his wife Zubaida Rahman and daughter Zaima Islam while voting.
In support of Tarique Rahman, five candidates withdrew from the contest in this constituency: SM Abul Kalam Azad (BNF), Shamim Ahmad (Bangladesh Congress), Muhammad Rashedul Haque (Bangladesh Labour Party), Manzur Humayun (Insaniyat Biplob Bangladesh), and independent Kazi Enayet Ullah.
The remaining contenders are: Atik Ahmed (Jatiya Party, JaPa), Tapu Raihan (Jatiya Party, JP), Muhammad Ullah (Islami Andolan Bangladesh), Kamrul Hasan Nasim (Bangladesh Nationalist Party), and independent candidate Md. Anisuzzaman Khokon.
According to the election commission, Dhaka-17 has a total of 327,898 registered voters, including 170,116 men, 157,774 women, and 8 third-gender voters. There are 124 polling centres in the constituency.