Jatiya Party Chairman HM Ershad, who failed to withdraw nomination, lost in Lalmonirhat-1 (Hatibandha-Patgram) election to the ruling party candidate.
The JP chief however won the election over Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) candidate in Rangpur-3 constituency. Ershad bagged 55,453 while Md Sabbir Ahmed 25,586, reports our Rangpur correspondent.
In Lalmonirhat, Awami League aspirant Motahar Hossain bagged 179,276 votes while Ershad got 7,827.
Local JP leaders said they neither campaigned not cast votes for Ershad as the party boycotted the election and alleged that the ruling party men cast the votes for Ershad in a bid to make the election credible.
The authorities picked up Ershad on December 12 from his Baridhara residence and since then kept him ‘confined’ to the Combined Military Hospital, Dhaka after he declared not to contest the election if it is not held in an inclusive manner.
Mahbubul Alam Mithu, member secretary of Lalmonirhat district JP, said the party leaders, activists and supporters did not campaign or paste any poster in favour of HM Ershad. Instead, they called their supporters not to go to polling centres to cast their votes, he added.
“Voters didn’t cast their votes for Ershad, but the votes came from Awami League ballot rigging only to earn credibility for the one-sided polls,” he said.
Manirul Shaikh, 75, an aged farmer at Dahagram village at Patgram upazila, said he is a permanent voter for ‘Langal’ (plough), election symbol of the Jatiya Party.
“I didn’t go to the polling centre to cast my vote. I think no voters cast their votes for Langal, but these votes for this symbol came from Awami League’s vote rigging,” he said.
Source: The Daily Star
