Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) won 28 of the 39 seats in Rajshahi division in the 13th parliamentary election, while Jamaat-e-Islami secured 11 seats.
Although BNP secured more seats, Jamaat advanced in terms of votes. This is because in the last competitive election in 2008 Jamaat had no seats in this division. Even in 2001, contesting as the partner of the 4-party Alliance, Jamaat had won only two seats.
The eight districts of this division are Rajshahi, Chapainawabganj, Naogaon, Natore, Pabna, Joypurhat, Bogura and Sirajganj. Party leaders and political analysts say BNP’s seats declined due to organisational weakness, while Jamaat advanced because of women voters.
New faces in all 10 Jamaat seats
Keramat Ali in Chapainawabganj-1, Mizanur Rahman in Chapainawabganj-2, Nurul Islam Bulbul in Chapainawabganj-3, Rafiqul Islam Khan in Sirajganj-4, Abdul Bari Sardar in Rajshahi-4, Fazlur Rahman Saeed in Joypurhat-1, Enamul Haque in Naogaon-2, Mohammad Najibur Rahman in Pabna-1, Muhammad Ali Asghar in Pabna-3 and Md. Abu Taleb Mondal in Pabna-4 became MPs for the first time. Only Professor Mujibur Rahman of Rajshahi-1 had won earlier, in 1986.
BNP win all seats in two districts
This time BNP won all seven seats in Bogura and all four seats in Natore. BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman was a candidate in Bogura-6. Jamaat had no seats in these two districts in the 2001 and 2008 elections as well.
Districts where Jamaat won one to three seats
Chapainawabganj has three seats. Before 2008 they were held by BNP. Even in 2018, when BNP won only six seats nationwide, two were from Chapainawabganj. This time BNP lost all three seats there.
Shafiqul Alam, adviser of Jago Nari Bohni Shikha, said Jamaat advanced mainly through women’s votes. They selected candidates right after 5 August and carried out intensive campaigning, while BNP nominated candidates only three months ago. Still, Harun should have won the Sadar seat, but internal conflict prevented it.
Rafiqul Islam, member secretary of district BNP, blamed Harunur Rashid, the Sadar candidate, for losing all Chapainawabganj seats. He said Harunur Rashid had not been active in the area since 2018, appeared only after 5 August, did not meet party committees, and told others to work on their own. He was seen campaigning with Awami League and Krishak League leaders, turning BNP voters away from him.
Of Rajshahi’s five seats, BNP candidates lost Rajshahi-1 and Rajshahi-4 to Jamaat candidates. Yet in 2001 BNP had won all five Rajshahi seats. Despite two rebel candidates, Professor Nazrul Islam won Rajshahi-5 by about 80,000 votes.
BNP activists were most disappointed by losing Rajshahi-1, once held by former BNP minister Barrister Aminul Haque. This time his brother, retired Major General Sharif Uddin, lost by 1,884 votes to Jamaat’s Nayeb-e-Amir. Leaders say the candidate showed hesitation in campaigning, nomination-deprived leaders did not participate enthusiastically, and internal conflict, including two murder-case accused running separate campaigns and Jamaat’s active women voters, led to BNP’s defeat.
Many BNP leaders think Rajshahi-4 was lost due to a weak candidate, predicting defeat beforehand.
Of Pabna’s five seats, Jamaat won three. Jamaat had earlier won two seats there in 1991, Pabna-1 and Pabna-5. Pabna-1 had been held by Jamaat Ameer Matiur Rahman Nizami.
Local leaders say BNP delayed nomination in Pabna-1 due to demarcation complexities, and their candidate was financially weak against Nizami’s son. This time Mohammad Najibur Rahman, Nizami’s son, won the seat.
Abdul Matin, president of Shujan in Pabna, said people expected Jamaat might win Pabna-1 because Nizami’s home was there. But BNP lost other seats due to multiple candidates. Central leader Habibur Rahman also lost for the same reason. Jamaat’s votes have increased nationwide, but whether it is temporary or permanent will be known after another election.
Joypurhat, the smallest district in the division, has only two seats, never previously won by Jamaat. This time Joypurhat-1 slipped from BNP’s hands. The independent BNP rebel there got more votes than the BNP candidate who lost.
Naogaon has five seats. Jamaat had last won Naogaon-4 in 1991 and none since then. This time Jamaat won Naogaon-2.
Of Sirajganj’s six seats, Jamaat won one and BNP the rest. Jamaat central leader Rafiqul Islam Khan won Sirajganj-4.
What the parties say
Asked why Jamaat did better in Rajshahi Division, Ashraful Alam Imon, president of Rajshahi Development Council and former president of Islami Chhatra Shibir’s Rajshahi University unit, said Jamaat continued ward-level activities despite repression under the Awami League government, stood beside helpless people and carried out welfare work. Also, their candidates were not involved in extortion or tender manipulation, so people supported Jamaat.
Asked why BNP lost seats, BNP Rajshahi divisional organising secretary Syed Shaheen Shawkat said people in border areas tend toward anti-India politics, now into their third or fourth generation. BNP always reflected their sentiments, but Jamaat used it more this time, drawing especially older voters and women through religious narratives. He also admitted BNP had organisational failures.