Independents see off over a dozen heavyweights
Awami League President Sheikh Hasina's strategy to make the election look competitive worked well, so much so that over a dozen heavyweights came tumbling down yesterday.
Despite repeated requests by party nominated candidates, top leaders of the AL-led 14-party alliance and even from the Jatiya Party, Hasina stuck to her position.
State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism Mahbub Ali was blown away by party independent and Jubo League leader Syed Sayedul Haque Suman by a margin of 1,51,000 votes in Habiganj-4 constituency.
Like Suman, two other party leaders running as independents pushed another state minister, Enamur Rahman, into the third position in Dhaka-19.
Enamur, the state minister for disaster management, was beaten by Saiful Islam, the AL general secretary of Ashulia, who ran as an independent. Former AL MP Towhid Jung Murad, who also ran as an independent, got the second highest votes.
Shwapan Bhattacharjee, state minister for rural development and co-operatives division, was defeated by so-called AL independent Yakub Ali in Jashore-5.
A decade ago, Shwapan entered the parliament as an independent MP by defeating the AL nominee Khan Tipu Sultan.
The much-talked about "AL independent" Mujibur Rahman Chowdhury Nixon handed Kazi Zafarullah, co-chairman of the AL election steering committee, a hat-trick defeat in Faridpur-4.
AL cultural affairs secretary and AL nominated candidate for Netrakona-3, Ashim Kumar Ukil fought with his predecessor Iftiquar Uddin Talukder Pintu, but his efforts fell short as he was defeated by only around 2,000 votes.
AL liberation war affairs secretary and AL nominee for Munshiganj-3 Mrinal Kanti Das was defeated by "AL independent" and immediate past Munshiganj municipality mayor Mohammad Faisal.
Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal President Hasanul Haque Inu repeatedly requested the AL chief to do something to make the AL leader running as an independent to quit the race in Kushtia-2. As Hasina didn't do anything about it, Inu, despite having the AL electoral symbol of boat, lost to Kamarul Arafin, a former union parishad chairman.
AL publicity and publication affair secretary Abdus Sobhan Golap, who had allegedly denied local AL leaders' access to the PM's public rally in Madaripur on December 30, got a befitting response from the grassroots of his constituency, Madaripur-3.
AL independent Tahmina, also Kalkini upazila chapter AL president, secured victory by getting 96,633 votes.
After having a series of meetings, three partners of the 14-party alliance got six seats from the AL, and only two of them, Workers Party President Rashed Khan Menon from Barishal-2 and Rejaul Karim Tansen of JSD from Bogura-4 got victory.
Jatiya Party (JP-Manju) Chairman Anwar Hossain Manju was defeated by his once APS Mohiuddin Moharaj in Pirojpur-2.
Moharaj, joint secretary of Pirojpur district AL and also former Zila Parishad chairman, is widely known as Manju's main political rival in the constituency.
Main opposition in the parliament Jatiya Party made AL agree to withdraw its 26 candidates to make an easy run for their candidates.
The strategy of the main opposition, however, seemed to have failed miserably, helping 15 AL independents become MPs.
After negotiation with the AL, both 14-party alliance and Jatiya Party leaders requested AL high-ups to withdraw AL independents. But the ruling party didn't pay any heed to their appeal.
At the last meeting with AL, the JP finally agreed to join the election after ensuring that JP Chairman GM Quader's wife Sherifa Quader's vie for Dhaka-18 without having to face an opponent from the AL. But Sherifa lost her security deposit as she could only win the heart of only 6,429 voters. "AL independent" Khasru Chowdhury secured victory.
AL candidate and MP for three times in a row Dhirendra Debnath Shambhu this time got the third highest votes in Barguna-1. Barguna district AL president Shambhu was defeated by his party colleague and district AL joint general secretary Golam Sarwar Tuku.
Former state minister Meher Afroze Chumki, sitting MP of Gazipur-5 and president of Mohila Awami League, lost to her party leader Aktaruzzaman, a former VP of Dhaka University Central Students' Union by around 12,000 votes.