Ganatantra Mancha, a coalition of six left-leaning and progressive political parties, has announced the names of 120 candidates for the upcoming national election.
The names include the platform’s top leaders Mahmudur Rahman Manna, Zonayed Saki, Hasnat Kaiyum, and Saiful Haque.
At a press conference held today, Thursday, at the Dhaka Reporters’ Unity, the coalition’s coordinator Hasnat Kaiyum announced the names of the candidates. He stated that lists for the remaining seats out of the total 300 will be gradually released.
Among the top leaders of the six parties in Ganatantra Mancha, Mahmudur Rahman Manna, president of Nagorik Oikko, has been nominated for Bogura-2; Hasnat Kaiyum, chief coordinator of the Rastra Sangskar Andolon, for Kishoreganj-5; Saiful Haque, general secretary of Bangladesh Revolutionary Workers Party, for Dhaka-8; Zonayed Saki, chief coordinator of Ganoshonghoti Andolon, for Brahmanbaria-6; Tania Rob, senior co-vice president of the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD), for Lakkshmipur-4; Shahid Uddin Mahmud Swapon, general secretary of JSD, for Feni-3; and Sheikh Rafiqul Islam Bablu, chairman of Bhasani Jono Shakti Party, for Jamalpur-5.
The press conference was chaired by Hasnat Kaiyum. In his welcome remarks, he said that over 400 applications for candidacy have been received so far from the six parties of Ganatantra Mancha, with more expressing interest. The candidate selection and coordination committee is reviewing and coordinating these applications. In cases where multiple candidates applied for the same seat, coordination continues through discussions among the parties.
Regarding the upcoming national election, Hasnat Kaiyum said that Ganatantra Mancha had previously declared participation independently. In addition, discussions about expanding the coalition are ongoing. There is even potential for alliances or electoral agreements with other groups.
Ganatantra Mancha will unite with those who are committed to freeing the country from fascism and building a state structure accountable to the people and owned by the people, he added.
Mahmudur Rahman Manna, Saiful Haque, Zonayed Saki, Sheikh Rafiqul Islam Bablu, Tania Rob, Shahid Uddin Mahmud Swapon, among others, were present at the meeting.
On 8 August, 2022, JSD, Nagorik Oikko, Bangladesh Revolutionary Workers Party, Ganoshonghoti Andolon, Bhasani Anushari Parishad, Rastra Sangskar Andolon, and Gono Odhikar Parishad formed a coalition named Ganatantra Mancha. Later, Gono Odhikar Parishad left the coalition.