Contesting candidates in the 13th Jatiya Sangsad (national parliament) election have been allocated their symbols on Wednesday. Election campaigning begins today, Thursday, formally taking the parliamentary election process to the field.
Under election laws, campaigning will continue until 7:30 am on 10 February. Voting will take place on 12 February from 7:30 am to 4:30 pm. A referendum on the implementation of the July National Charter will also be held on the same day.
Political parties are set to formally begin campaigning from today. Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) will launch its official parliamentary election campaign this morning through an election rally at the Govt Alia Madrasah ground in Sylhet.
On the first day, BNP chairman Tarique Rahman will virtually join rallies in seven districts, including this one. The districts are Sylhet, Moulvibazar, Habiganj, Brahmanbaria, Kishoreganj, Narsingdi and Araihazar in Narayanganj.
Meanwhile, Jamaat-e-Islami has organised an election rally at 2:00 pm Tuesday at the Adarsha School ground in Mirpur, Dhaka. Jamaat-e-Islami said its ameer Shafiqur Rahman and leaders of the 10-party alliance will attend the rally. The venue falls within Shafiqur Rahman’s constituency, Dhaka-15.
The National Citizen Party (NCP) will begin campaigning at 10:30 am today by paying respects at the graves of three leaders and at the grave of martyr Osman Hadi in the Dhaka University area.
After the visits, the campaign procession will move from the Three Leaders’ Mausoleum to the National Press Club. The party said its convener Nahid Islam and other top leaders will take part.
The Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) will begin campaigning by placing wreaths at the Central Shaheed Minar at 11:00 am. At 9:00 am, Ganosamhati Andolon chief coordinator Zonayed Saki will start campaigning by visiting his father’s grave and laying wreaths at Charlahaniya in Bancharampur upazila of Brahmanbaria.
Symbol allocation
Political party symbols are pre-determined. However, in line with the election schedule, returning officers formally allocated symbols to contesting candidates yesterday, Wednesday. Independent candidates also received their symbols.
BNP chairperson Tarique Rahman is contesting from Dhaka-17 and Bogura-6 constituencies. On his behalf, Bogura district BNP president Rezaul Karim Badsha received the sheaf of paddy symbol allocation letter for Bogura-6, while former assistant legal affairs secretary of Dhaka Metropolitan North Jubo Dal, Md Monirul Islam, received the letter for Dhaka-17.
Jamaat-e-Islami amir Shafiqur Rahman is contesting from Dhaka-15. A delegation led by assistant secretary general Ehsanul Mahbub Jubayer collected the Scales symbol from the returning officer on his behalf.
For Dhaka-11, the NCP’s candidate and party convener Nahid Islam received the symbol allocation through joint chief coordinator Shakil Ahmed. The NCP’s symbol is Shapla Kali.
Counter-allegations
After collecting the symbol allocation letter on behalf of the party ameer in Dhaka-15, Jamaat-e-Islami assistant secretary general Ehsanul Mahbub Jubayer told newspersons that their party leaders and activists were being attacked and harassed in various places.
He said such an incident occurred in Dhaka-15 on Tuesday and that they had informed the returning officer, expressing hope that appropriate action would be taken.
On the other hand, BNP candidate for Dhaka-15 Shafiqul Islam Khan alleged that a particular party had violated the election code of conduct. He claimed the party sent women door to door in violation of the code, and videos showed female activists asking for NID and bKash numbers, which he said were personal information.
After receiving his symbol yesterday, NCP candidate for Dhaka-8 Nasiruddin Patwari alleged that BNP chairman Tarique Rahman violated the election code of conduct by promising flats to residents of the Karail slum.
He said, “We see that Nahid Islam is issued a show-cause notice, but when Tarique Rahman is openly making such promises, the election commission has remained silent.”
Raising allegations against the administration, Nasiruddin Patwari said it was leaning to one side and following a discriminatory policy, applying one standard for Tarique Rahman and another for other candidates.
Meanwhile, a delegation from Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis met the chief election commissioner yesterday. After the meeting, the party’s senior nayeb-e-ameer Maulana Yusuf Ashraf told journalists they had offered some suggestions to ensure equal opportunities for all and also raised certain complaints, saying all parties should enjoy equal rights.