Hero Alam to contest Dhaka-17 by-polls

YouTuber Ashraful Hossain alias Hero Alam has expressed his desire to contest the by-election to Dhaka-17 constituency which fell vacant at the death of parliamentarian Akbar Hossain Pathan alias Farooque, who was also a popular actor of Bangla cinema.

He will collect the nomination paper as an independent candidate from the election commission office at Agargaon in Dhaka.

The YouTuber confirmed the matter to Prothom Alo on Monday.

Hero Alam said, "The Gazipur City Corporation (GCC) election was free and fair. People has started trusting the election commission (EC). Mia Bhai (Elder brother character in Bangla cinema) was the parliamentarian of this constituency. He couldn't bring about significant development to the constituency due to his illness. All people of this country live Hero Alam. People want me to go to the parliament to change their fortunes. If I win the by-poll, I want to contribute to the development of the area for four to five months."             

The Dhaka-17 seat comprises Gulshan, Banani, Bhashantek thana and cantonment area.

When asked about the voters of the capital’s upscale area, he said, "Of the total 333,000 voters, the number of elite class voters in Gulshan and Banani is not very high. Besides, it will be proved in voting that elite people also like Hero Alam."   

Earlier, the YouTuber came to the light contesting the by-polls to Bogura-4 (Kahalo-Nandigram) and Bogura-6 (Sadar) constituencies.

He conceded defeat to the candidate of Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD), AKM Rezaul Karim, in Bogura-4 election by 834 votes.

However, he lost the security deposit to ruling Awami League candidate Ragebul Ahsan Ripu in Bogura-6.