S A Shofiee, Sylhet :
Sunamganj-2 (Dirai-Shalla) constituency is known as a battleground between two heavyweight candidates of Suranjit Nasir. One is Awami League presidium member and former railway minister Suranjit Sengupta, and the other is BNP national executive committee member Nasir Chowdhury.
Currently, Suranjit Sengupta is not in the field, and Awami League is not actively present. In this context, the constituency has come to the center of political attention.
Election winds are blowing in Dirai-Shalla surrounding the upcoming 13th National Parliament elections. Potential candidates in this constituency have become active waiting for the decision of the party’s policy-making body.
Former Justice Miftah Uddin Chowdhury, UK-based advocate Tahir Raihan Chowdhury (Pabel), UK BNP Joint General Secretary Ajmal Hossain Chowdhury Jabed, Joint Organizing Secretary Barrister Abdul Majid Taher, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam’s Maulana Shoaib Ahmed, Jamaat-e-Islam’s candidate Advocate Mohammad Shishir Monir, and Jatiya Nagorik Party (NCP) candidate Anik Roy are among the possible candidates in the Nasir-Suranjit constituency.
While the country’s largest political party BNP has announced party candidates in various constituencies across the country, it has not yet announced a candidate in this constituency, as a result of which BNP is lobbying hard at the center and locally for party nomination hopefuls.
Among them, former MP Nasir Uddin Chowdhury, a heavyweight candidate nominated repeatedly by BNP, has maintained a large number of support and activists in the area.
He was elected chairman of the Upazila Parishad twice and later, in the 1996 national election, he was elected as a member of parliament from Dirai-Shalla, defeating the late leader Suranjit Sengupta.
He is popular due to the trust and acceptance he has earned in his long political career. Although he has been irregular in the political field due to illness, he has recently held election meetings in Dirai and Shalla.
Nasir Chowdhury said, “After joining the BNP in 2001, I contested with the paddy sheaf symbol. I fought hard and lost to Suranjit Sengupta.
However, if BNP gets the nomination for the Dirai-Shalla constituency this time, the paddy sheaf symbol will win the election. I want to do something for the people of Dirai-Shalla.”
In addition, Advocate Pabel Chowdhury, a former advisor living in the UK and aspiring for BNP nomination, has been active in the area for a long time and was on the nomination list as an alternative candidate in the 2018 election.
The other candidates are Joint General Secretary Ajmal Hossain Chowdhury Javed and Joint Organizing Secretary Barrister Abdul Majid Taher. They have been participating in various programs alongside Nasir Uddin Chowdhury.
Retired Justice Miftah Uddin Chowdhury, the MP elected from this constituency in the February 15, 1996 election, is also campaigning in the area.
Jamaat-e-Islami has announced former Chhatra Shibir secretary Advocate Shishir Mohammad Monir as their candidate for this constituency.
He has been conducting mass outreach in villages for a long time and has promised to do various developmental works if he wins the election. His exceptional election activities are attracting the attention of voters.
Shishir Monir, the new candidate for the veterans’ seat, has already been able to present himself in a different light throughout the constituency.
The party has announced that National Citizens Party (NCP) joint convener Anik Roy will contest from this constituency. However, no such campaigning has been seen yet.
Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam has also announced its joint secretary general Dr. Maulana Shoaib Ahmed as its candidate. He has been familiar with the area for a long time and is participating in the movement in alliance with BNP.
However, the leaders and activists of Dirai-Shalla demand that party nominations be given for this seat. There are rumors that Soumen Sen, son of the late Suranjit Sengupta, or Azizur Rahman Bulbul, former mayor of Dirai Municipality and a UK expatriate, may be independent candidates.
In this situation, discussions are going on across the constituency about who will be the BNP candidate to compete with Jamaat-e-Islam’s heavyweight candidate Advocate Shishir Monir. It is evident that whoever is nominated will have to play in the electoral field of this seat along with Shishir Monir.
