Omor Faruk Chowdhury, the lawmaker from Rajshahi-1 (Godagari-Tanore) made a group of grassroots Awami League leaders promise by putting hands on the Holy Quran to support him in the next general elections.

The AL leaders include chairmen of Godagari and Tanore upazila parishads, and most of the unions and municipalities in the constituency, reports our Rajshahi staff correspondent.

The incident took place at the office of the lawmaker at the Jatiya Sangsad in Dhaka on Saturday evening. Several clips of the event went viral on social media.

Party insiders said the lawmaker found it "necessary" as several AL leaders are willing to run for the constituency in the next general polls.

Talking to The Daily Star, Omor Faruk said, "I didn't force them; they did it willingly."

He added, "They swore in on the Holy Quran as there has been a trust issue among leaders. I don't find anything wrong in this."

Contacted, Md Jahangir Alam, chairman of Godagari Upazila Parishad, said some of the leaders opposed the lawmaker in the past and attended meetings organised by those who showed interest in contesting the elections from the constituency.

"I followed others," he said.

Deopara Union Parishad Chairman Md Belal Hossain said they participated in the "oath taking" willingly as the lawmaker expressed doubt over their roles.

In the video clips doing rounds on social media, at least 11 AL leaders were seen swearing in by keeping their hands on the Holy Quran.

As the leaders were completing their oath, the lawmaker often heard asking not to betray the Awami League.