Egg attack on Dhaka-8 candidate triggers tension
Staff Reporter :
Nasiruddin Patwari, the Dhaka-8 parliamentary candidate of the Jamaat-led 11-party electoral alliance, was again targeted with eggs on Tuesday, intensifying political tensions in the capital and prompting sharp accusations between rival camps ahead of the February 12 election.
The latest incident took place around midday at Habibullah Bahar College in Shantinagar, where Patwari had gone to attend a pitha festival as an invited guest.
Videos circulating on social media show a group of people surrounding him, chanting slogans, before throwing eggs in quick succession.
Patwari and his supporters are seen retreating to a college building’s veranda as the crowd continues the barrage.
At one point, his supporters chant religious slogans in response. He later came out and sat on the road in front of the college, protesting the attack.
Patwari is the chief coordinator of the National Citizen Party (NCP), a youth-led group formed after the July–August 2024 uprising that toppled the Awami League government.
The NCP is contesting the national election in seat-sharing arrangements with Jamaat-e-Islami and other like-minded parties. In Dhaka-8, Patwari is running as the 11-party alliance candidate against BNP standing committee member Mirza Abbas.
At a press conference held around 2 pm at the party’s election office in Fakirerpool, NCP convener Nahid Islam directly blamed Mirza Abbas and BNP’s Chairman Tarique Rahman for the incident.
“What happened today is extremely unfortunate. Even more disgraceful is the attempt to deny it,” Nahid said.
“Identified terrorists of Habibullah Bahar College carried out this planned attack under the instruction of Mirza Abbas and with the consent of Tarique Rahman.
On one hand they speak politely from the stage, on the other they suppress opponents through violence.”
He urged the Election Commission to take action, calling on the college authorities and the BNP leadership to clarify what steps they would take over the incident.
“We want to see what measures are taken. We will respond on the streets, and we will respond through the ballot on February 12,” he said.
Mahabub Alam, head of the NCP’s election media sub-committee, said Patwari had been attacked while attending the festival program and described the incident as an assault.
Patwari himself alleged that activists linked to Chhatra Dal, the BNP’s student wing, were responsible.
“We place the judgment of this attack in the hands of the people,” he told reporters at the scene. “These are not genuine Chhatra Dal activists. Mirza Abbas has a separate force here.”
Ramna police station officer-in-charge Mohammad Rahat Khan said police were present throughout the incident and attempted to control the situation and disperse the agitated crowd.
The attack follows a similar episode on Friday evening, when dirty water and eggs were thrown at Patwari during a campaign street meeting in Siddeshwari’s Golden Plaza area.
At the time, he blamed extortionists for that incident. Tuesday’s assault came just three days later.
At the Fakirerpool press conference, Nahid Islam said at least 12 people were injured in the latest violence.
Mirza Abbas rejected the allegations, expressing surprise at being blamed. “I even invited people to tea, and that is also being portrayed as my fault,” he said. “Now they are saying I issued threats.
I am astonished by these claims. Wherever something happens, all the blame somehow falls on Mirza Abbas.”
With campaigning intensifying and rival parties trading accusations, the repeated attacks have raised fresh concerns about security and political intolerance in one of Dhaka’s most closely watched constituencies ahead of next month’s polls.