"What is going on here?" asked the 45-year-old, finding herself left out of franchise by the rigging that overshadowed the parliamentary by-election to Munshiganj-1 constituency.

"I got to know the rigging after a wait in line for more than two hours. How can someone else caste my vote?" Kamala, wife of Abul Hashem, said in exasperation.

She went to the voting centre -- keen to vote the candidate of her choice into office, but polling agents of the ruling alliance candidate told her that her voting serial number (247) did not match with her name.

She went out, collected her number again and moved back to the voting booth only to be refused for the second time.

The polling officers refused to let her vote apparently because she was carrying a voter slip of 'Kula', the election symbol of Bikalpa Dhara candidate Mahi B Chowdhury, who resigned from parliament as lawmaker and the BNP on March 10.

Asked about Kamala going in and out of the booth, an independent candidate's polling agent said her vote was rigged.

Hoodlums with apparent ties to the BNP forced the polling agents of Mahi, son of former president AQM Badruddoza Chowdhury, out of the polling centre.

Kamala was not the only voter to allege the rigging of elections, third in less than three years for the seat.