Nomination papers collected on behalf of Khaleda Zia and Tarique Rahman in Bogura
Ahead of the 13th national parliamentary election, nomination papers have been collected on behalf of BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia for the Bogura-7 (Gabtali–Shajahanpur) constituency, and on behalf of the party’s Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman for the Bogura-6 (Sadar) constituency.
Around 1:30 pm today, Sunday, Khaleda Zia’s adviser and former MP Helaluzzaman Talukder collected the nomination papers on her behalf from the office of the district election officer in the Khandar area of the city. Local BNP leaders and activists were present at the time.
After collecting the papers, Helaluzzaman Talukder said that the Bogura-7 constituency, comprising Gabtali and Shajahanpur upazilas, which include the ancestral home of BNP founder Ziaur Rahman, has seen Khaleda Zia elected as an MP with overwhelming votes in every election. He expressed confidence that voters would once again elect her with the highest number of votes.
Khaleda Zia won from the Bogura-7 constituency in every election from 1991 to 2008. After she vacated the seat, Helaluzzaman Talukder won three by-elections, while central BNP leader Moudud Ahmed won once after contesting a by-election.
Earlier, around 12:30 pm, nomination papers were collected on behalf of Tarique Rahman for the Bogura-6 constituency under the leadership of district BNP president Rezaul Karim (Badsha).
Among others, BNP chairperson’s adviser and BNP candidate for Bogura-5 Golam Md Siraj, acting general secretary of the district BNP and BNP candidate for Bogura-4 Mosharraf Hossain, former district BNP president Saiful Islam, former general secretary Zainal Abedin (Chan), city BNP president Hamidul Haque Chowdhury, and Sadar upazila BNP president Maftun Ahmed Khan, were present at the time.
Speaking to journalists, Rezaul Karim said that the nomination papers had been collected on behalf of Tarique Rahman. He added that Tarique Rahman is expected to return to the country on 25 December.
If it is not possible for him to come to Bogura to submit the nomination papers personally, district leaders will submit them on his behalf. However, Tarique Rahman will come to Bogura and take part in election campaigning after returning to the country.
From 1991 to 2008, BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia won every election from the Bogura-6 constituency. This time, BNP has nominated Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman as the party’s candidate for the constituency.