Voting begins in Bogura-6 and Sherpur-3 constituencies
Voting has begun in the by-election to the Bogura-6 constituency and the general election in Sherpur-3.
Polling started at 7:30 am today, Thursday, as scheduled, and will continue uninterrupted until 4:30 pm.
Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairman Tarique Rahman won the Bogura-6 seat by a large margin in the 13th national election held on 12 February. He also secured victory in Dhaka-17. As he vacated the Bogura-6 seat, the by-election was called.
The Bogura-6 constituency comprises 11 unions of Bogura Sadar upazila and 21 wards of one pourashava.
In the by-election, BNP candidate Rezaul Karim (Badsha) is contesting with the paddy sheaf symbol, Jamaat candidate Abidur Rahman (Sohel) with the scales symbol, and Bangladesh Development Party candidate Al Amin Talukdar with the cauliflower symbol.
Rezaul Karim, the BNP candidate, is the president of the Bogura district unit of the BNP and a former mayor of Bogura pourashava. Jamaat’s Abidur Rahman had also contested this seat in the 13th national election.
The election in Sherpur-3 was previously postponed due to the death of Jamaat candidate Nuruzzaman Badal during the 13th national election.
His younger brother Masudur Rahman has now been nominated by Jamaat. The BNP candidate is Mahmudul Haque (Rubel). Bangladesh Samajtantrik Dal (BASAD) candidate Mizanur Rahman is also contesting with the scissors symbol.
During a visit to the Tatihati polling centre in Sreebordi upazila in the morning, voters were seen arriving to cast their ballots.
At around 8:30 am, the presiding officer of Tatihati Government Primary School centre, Mrinal Kanti Das, said there are 4,781 registered voters at the centre. Voting began at 7:30 am across nine booths.
“Turnout is relatively low in the morning, but it is expected to increase as the day progresses,” he added.
The Sherpur-3 constituency, comprising 17 unions and one pourashava of Sreebordi and Jhenaigati upazilas, has a total of 402,029 voters. Of them, 205,066 are male, 208,304 female, and seven belong to the third gender category. There are 128 polling centres across the two upazilas.