Chandpur (Faridganj)-4 Constituency: Appeal to Khaleda, Tarique for nomination’s reconsideration

Staff Correspondent :

Local BNP men of Chandpur-4(Faridganj) constituency have demanded the cancellation of the initial BNP nomination given to Lion Harunur Rashid, a lifelong member of Bangabandhu Samaj Kalyan Parishad – an affiliate of the fallen fascist ruling party Awami League.

On Tuesday , Mizanur Rahman, General Secretary of BNP’s East Gupti Union (No. 5), submitted this demand on behalf of the people of the constituency at the BNP central office in Naya Paltan, addressed to the BNP Chairperson, Acting Chairman, Secretary General, and Senior Joint Secretary General.

In his written application, Mizanur Rahman stated that in the 2008 election, based on BNP’s internal public opinion survey, Alhaj M A Hannan was nominated. At that time, Lion Harunur Rashid, a lifelong member of Bangabandhu Samaj Kalyan Parishad and an accomplice of the autocratic Awami League, filed a case with the Election Commission challenging Hannan’s nomination. After losing that case, he filed another with the High Court, where the nomination of M A Hannan was upheld. Subsequently, Harunur Rashid submitted a petition with fabricated information to the Chamber Judge Court seeking suspension of Hannan’s nomination.

Just three days before the election, the Chamber Judge suspended Hannan’s nomination. It remains unclear through which process and with whose assistance Harunur Rashid received the “paddy sheaf” (BNP symbol) as the party’s candidate only three days before the election.

After the election, M A Hannan collected the court documents and found that the allegations used to suspend his nomination were entirely false. Hannan then filed a fraud case against Harunur Rashid. In that case, handwriting experts confirmed that the false statement was written by Harunur Rashid himself. The court denied him bail and sent him to jail during the parliamentary session. Harunur Rashid spent three days in prison. Upon release, he returned with even more aggressive behavior.

Later, in 2014, the Awami League made several attempts to elect M A Hannan as Member of Parliament from this constituency, but he refused their proposals out of loyalty to his party. Due to his sincerity and dedication to the people, based on public opinion surveys, he was nominated again with the BNP’s “paddy sheaf” symbol in the 2018 national election.

As backup candidates, Riyaz Uddin Nasu and Kazi Rafique (a central committee member) were also chosen. Although Harunur Rashid’s name was not on the three-person nomination list, he once again used the help of the autocratic government’s administrators and compliant courts to spread false propaganda that Hannan’s nomination had been canceled a day before the election, and he campaigned as the paddy-sheaf candidate. However, since the party had officially nominated Hannan, leadership of Faridganj Upazila BNP remained with him after 2018.

During the party’s difficult times, Hannan led all political activities from the front and kept all affiliated bodies well-organized. He has played an unparalleled role in the socio-economic and humanitarian development of Faridganj-supporting the poor, contributing to mosques, madrasas, schools, colleges, temples, and road infrastructure.

Because of his social, political, and humanitarian contributions, people were confident that he would receive the nomination this time. But to everyone’s shock, Lion Harunur Rashid received the initial nomination through an unclear process. This has surprised not only party activists but also the general public.

Mizanur Rahman further stated that M A Hannan was arrested from Paltan on the day of the historic Dhaka Grand Rally and spent nearly three months in jail. He has repeatedly faced political harassment. Harunur Rashid, on the other hand, has never participated in any political movement, has no cases against him, and has never spent even a day in jail. Party loyalists want to know how someone like Harunur Rashid could be selected for the initial nomination.

Since 13 November, after the initial nomination was announced, he has not contacted any leaders or activists of BNP or its affiliated organizations, nor have they engaged with him. In contrast, thousands of general people and BNP activists are spontaneously taking to the streets every day in Faridganj demanding final nomination for M A Hannan.

Unless party leadership collects the real ground data and takes a realistic decision, it will be extremely difficult to retain this seat.

The written application also revealed several previously unknown facts about Lion Harunur Rashid: In 2006, he contested as a rebel independent candidate using the “mango” symbol against the BNP candidate, although the election was later canceled.

He is a lifelong member of Bangabandhu Samaj Kalyan Parishad.
In the past 17 years, there has been no case against him, and he has never been to jail.
In a Youth Dal anniversary rally organized by Harunur Rashid, slogans of “Joy Bangla” were chanted.

After receiving the initial nomination, slogans like “Beware of BNP’s agents” were chanted from his rally.

He announced his own Upazila BNP committee in defiance of the committee approved by the district BNP as per the central BNP’s directive.

After receiving the nomination, he has been using police protocol.
No member of the current Faridganj Upazila BNP committee is aligned with him.
During the Awami League government, he accumulated vast wealth-both domestically and abroad-with the help of ruling party networks. He even established a real estate company in Dubai, UAE.

Recently, Harunur Rashid’s supporters attacked BNP workers, injuring several.
He continues to engage in activities aligned with the Awami League’s agenda.
At the end, he strongly demanded on behalf of Faridganj Upazila BNP and its affiliated bodies that the nomination of Lion Harunur Rashid-an accomplice of the autocratic Awami League and a lifelong member of Bangabandhu Samaj Kalyan Parishad-be canceled and that the widely respected M A Hannan be given the final nomination to ensure the BNP retains the Chandpur (Faridganj) Constituency 4 seat.