BNP blames subtle rigging for poll debacle in Ctg

BNP candidate Abdullah Al Noman shows a ballot paper at a press conference on Saturday.Photo: STAR

BNP leaders here blamed the subtle election engineering, irregularities and rigging for their crushing defeat in the December 29 election in Chittagong while grassroots leaders and voters see it in different ways.
Chittagong is known as the safe vote bank of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) for long.
The BNP heavyweights who won the previous elections, lost in the ninth parliamentary elections.
The leaders including BNP Joint Secretary General and former fisheries minister Abdullah AL Noman, former commerce minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury, former whip Syed Wahidul Alam and former lawmakers Sarwar Jamal Nizam and Gazi Mohammad Shahjahan Jewel lost their seats from where they were elected for several times.
Noman who won from Kotwali seat in 1991 and 2001 election, lost to his rival Awami League candidate Dr Afsarul Amin in Double Mooring by 9291 votes.
Dr Afsarul won the seat bagging 1,37,106 votes while Noman got 1,27,815 votes.
Noman at a press conference at the Chittagong Press Club on Saturday brought allegation of irregularities at Chittagong-9 constituency against the election commission.
While talking to The Daily Star, he blamed the election commission for providing wrong voter list to the candidates. He said the allegation would be proved if judicial enquiry could be done.
He said the people allowed a non-elected government that failed to deliver in different sectors and waited with the hope of an acceptable and credible election with the belief of having a correct voter list and national ID cards. But, the EC frustrated them, he added.
He said he got the people's verdict but lost to election engineering by the EC.
Noman alleged that around 90 per cent of female voters went to different polling centres with national ID cards whom around 20 per cent could not cast their votes as their names were not in the voter lists of presiding and polling officers.
He said roles of different on duty presiding officers, polling officers, election observers and members of Ansar on the election day was 'suspicious' since afternoon on December 29. He said he personally drew attention of different officials including the Election Commissioner Brigadier General (Retd) M Sakhawat Hossain, returning officer and presiding officers in this regard but none took any step to solve the problem.
Noman, however, did not reject the poll result and expressed his unwillingness to go to the court in this regard, saying he would face it politically.
BNP candidate Shamsul Alam, supporters of whom allegedly involved in purchasing votes with cash money at Kotwali, also echoed the same.
Meanwhile, several grassroots level leaders and activists of the party and its front organisations in these two areas said December 29 election was free and fair one and the result was nothing but reflection of people's opinion.
Former law affairs secretary of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) Chittagong city unit Mohammad Monwar said apart from some nominal allegations the result was true reflection of public opinion.
Monwar who visited different polling centres, said many voters who faced problems in finding their names in the voter lists could later cast their votes at different centres.
Wahidul Alam who was elected lawmaker in the last three elections and lost to grand alliance candidate Anisul Islam Mahmud at Hathazari constituency, alleged that many of the pro-BNP voters could not exercise their franchise as their names were not in the list of polling officers.
Habibullah, a villager of Madarsha union under Hathazari, said the people wanted a change this time as Wahidul did not do any major development work in the upazila.
Twice elected lawmaker from Patiya, BNP leader Gazi Shahjahan Jewel has been defeated by AL candidate Shamsul Hoque.
Voters of Patiya believe that criminal activities, including extortion and crime, by the JCD activists during the BNP rule put a big stain on Jewel's image.
Mass voters think that result on the December 29 election was the reflection of public opinion.
Nizamuddin, a new voter, said the people would also consider performance of the newly elected lawmakers regarding development of Chittagong in next election.