Tarique Rahman to contest for Dhaka-17, Bogura-6
Staff Reporter :
Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman will contest the 13th parliamentary election from the Dhaka-17 and Bogura-6 constituencies.
His nomination papers were collected for Dhaka-17 on his behalf on Sunday morning. BNP chairperson’s personal secretary ABM Abdus Sattar collected the papers at around 11:00am from the office of Dhaka Divisional Commissioner Sharaf Uddin Ahmed Chowdhury in Segunbagicha. The party’s media cell confirmed the development.
Later Tarique Rahman signed the nomination papers for Dhaka-17 and Bogura-6 constituencies with the party’s electoral symbol, the Sheaf of Paddy.
Meanwhile, Tarique Rahman and his daughter Zaima Rahman have been included in the country’s voter list, officials said on Sunday.
Earlier, BNP standing committee member Salahuddin Ahmed said Tarique Rahman would contest the election from both Bogura-6 and Dhaka-17 constituencies.
At the same time, Bangladesh Jatiya Party (BJP) chairman Andaleeve
Rahman Partha decided to vacate the Dhaka-17 seat and contest from Bhola-1 instead.
According to BNP sources, after returning to the country, Tarique Rahman applied to become a voter in the Dhaka-17 constituency.
Senior party leaders later urged him to contest the election from the seat. Following this decision, Andaleeve Rahman Partha chose to run from Bhola-1 as a mark of respect for Tarique Rahman.
It may be recalled that Andaleeve Rahman Partha was elected a Member of Parliament from Bhola-1 in the 2008 general election with BNP support.
His father, the late Najibur Rahman Monju, a former minister, also represented the same constituency in parliament.
Earlier, nomination papers were also collected on behalf of Tarique Rahman from the Bogura-6 constituency.
Meanwhile, party sources said BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia who is currently undertaking medical treatment in Evercare Hospital in the capital will contest the election from three seats: Bogura-7, Feni-1 and Dinajpur-3.
Meanwhile, Tarique Rahman and his daughter Zaima Rahman have been included in the country’s voter list, officials said on Sunday.
BNP Media Cell member Shairul Kabir Khan confirmed the development to the media, saying the enrolment was completed through the Election Commission’s formal process.
The Election Commission’s public relations wing also confirmed the matter on Sunday.
According to officials, the registration formalities, including fingerprinting, iris scanning and other biometric procedures, were completed at the Election Training Institute (ETI) building in the capital’s Agargaon area on Saturday.
Tarique Rahman’s wife, Zubaida Rahman, and their daughter Zaima entered the ETI premises on Saturday, where the voter registration process was finalised.
Director (Public Relations) of the Election Commission Secretariat Md Ruhul Amin Mallik said the commission had approved Tarique Rahman’s inclusion in the voter list.
“The Election Commission has given its approval for Tarique Rahman’s enrolment as a voter,” he said.
Earlier on Saturday, Tarique Rahman arrived at the ETI around 1:00pm to complete voter registration and national identity card (NID) procedures and left the premises at about 1:18pm after finishing all required formalities.
Election Commission Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said both Tarique Rahman and Zaima Rahman had duly filled in and submitted their voter registration forms.
He added that under Section 15 of the Voter List Act, 2009, the commission has the authority to enrol any eligible adult as a voter.
Accordingly, they have been registered as voters of Dhaka’s Ward No. 19, which falls under Constituency No. 17.
Bangladesh first introduced a photo-based voter list in 2007-08. At the time, Tarique Rahman was in prison.
After his release in 2008, he travelled to London for medical treatment and did not return to the country, as a result of which he had not previously obtained a national identity card.