BNP shares seat with Manna, but HC bars him to vie polls

Staff Reporter :

Nagorik Oikya President Mahmudur Rahman Manna has been barred from contesting the upcoming national election after the High Court rejected his writ petition seeking removal of his name from Bangladesh Bank’s loan defaulters list.

The ruling directly affects the BNP’s recently announced seat-sharing arrangement, under which the party had decided not to nominate any candidate in Bogura-2, allowing Manna to contest the seat using his own party’s symbol.

A High Court bench comprising Justice Md Bazlur Rahman and Justice Md Monjur Alam passed the order on Wednesday following a preliminary hearing.

The court rejected the writ that sought directions to exclude Manna’s name from the central bank’s list of defaulted borrowers.

Deputy Attorney General Shafiqul Rahman, appearing for the state, said the dismissal of the writ means Manna is legally ineligible to contest the election.
“As his name remains on the loan defaulters list, he cannot take part in the polls,” he told reporters after the hearing.

Manna was represented by senior advocate Ahsanul Karim and Barrister Jyotirmoy Barua. Speaking to journalists, Barua said the legal team would challenge the High Court order before the Appellate Division.

The case stems from defaulted loans linked to Afaku Cold Storage Limited, a Bogura-based company led by Manna. On December 10, Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited’s Bogura Borogola branch issued a call-back notice seeking recovery of Tk 38.04 crore from the company, asking that the dues be cleared by December 18 and warning of legal action in case of non-payment.
The notice, signed by branch head Touhid Reza, was addressed to Afaku Cold Storage Chairman Mahmudur Rahman Manna and Managing Director ABM Nazmul Qadir Shajahan Chowdhury.
Court documents show that Manna owns 50 percent of the company, while Chowdhury holds 25 percent and director Ismat Ara Laizu owns the remaining 25 percent.
An earlier notice issued on December 3 had also directed the company’s facility at Kichok Bazar in Shibganj, Bogura, to repay the defaulted amount.
The High Court order came on the same day the BNP finalised seat-sharing arrangements with its ally parties that had taken part in a joint movement against what the party describes as a fascist regime.
At a briefing at the BNP chairperson’s political office in Gulshan, Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir announced that the party would not field candidates in seven constituencies, while in other seats allied leaders would either join the BNP or contest using its electoral symbol, the sheaf of paddy.
Under the plan, Nagorik Oikya chief Manna was slated to contest from Bogura-2 with his party’s symbol, with the BNP staying out of the race. That plan now faces uncertainty following the court ruling.
Fakhrul said the seat-sharing decisions were reached through discussions with parties involved in the simultaneous movement.
He also warned that organisational action would be taken against any BNP leader who contests in seats covered by the agreement.
The BNP’s broader arrangement includes several high-profile moves, Mostafa Jamal Haider of the Jatiya Party (Kazi Zafar) in Pirojpur-1, Rashed Khan of Gono Odhikar Parishad in Jhenaidah-4, Saiful Haque of the Revolutionary Workers Party in Dhaka-12, Rashid Bin Wakkas of Islami Oikya Jote in Jashore-5, Mahmudur Rahman Manna of Nagorik Oikya in Bogura-2, Nurul Haque Nur of Gono Odhikar Parishad in Patuakhali-3, and Jonayed Saki of Ganosamhati Andolon in Brahmanbaria-6. The party has warned of organisational action if any BNP leader contests in these seats.
For now, however, the Bogura-2 seat remains in question, as Manna’s legal battle shifts to the Appellate Division and the election calendar moves forward.