TANGAIL — Independent candidate Adv. Mohammad Ali withdrew from the parliamentary race for the Madhupur-Dhanbari constituency while campaigning was in full swing, prompting anger and deep despair among his workers and supporters.
Adv. Mohammad Ali, a former legal affairs secretary of the central Chhatra Dal, had entered the election as an independent candidate after failing to secure a BNP nomination. Because he stood as an independent, he was recently expelled from his posts as a member of BNP’s central executive committee, joint secretary of the Nationalist Lawyers Forum and director of the Zia Council. BNP awarded the constituency nomination to Fakir Mahbub Anam Swapan, a two-time former lawmaker and another member of BNP’s central executive committee. Multiple sources said Mohammad Ali decided to withdraw after several meetings with the party’s nominated candidate, Fakir Mahbub Anam Swapan. Final discussions were held Friday morning at Anwar Hossain’s house in Elenga, Tangail, after talks in Dhaka.
Lal Mia, a resident of Aushnara union in Madhupur upazila, said he had spent the past year and a half away from home, family and relatives, using his own money to do politics with Mohammad Ali. “As a local son and a popular central BNP leader, I thought he would get the party nomination. We were devastated when news came that he had been denied. After he became an independent candidate and got his symbol, he campaigned until midday the next day. Then word came that the leader was pulling out. It felt like the sky had fallen on our heads.” He broke down in tears while speaking.
Tota, a resident of the Gangair area of Alokdiya in Madhupur, said in a tearful voice: “How could a leader betray us like this? Where do we go now? If he needed money, he should have said so. He pulled out before the election even started. Your name will be written next to Mir Jafar in history.”
Abdul Hai, a former president of Dhanbari upazila Krishak Dal and a resident of Jadunathpur union, said he had been busy since Friday morning distributing leaflets and campaigning. He was stunned when he returned to Madhupur after prayers and heard the news. “A strong base for Mohammad Ali had been built across Jadunathpur and Dhanbari. The long road we walked with him has suddenly stopped. Now I’m uncertain about my own politics, too.”
From morning, workers crowded Anwar Hossain’s house near the Madhupur court, where the independent candidate’s chief coordinator lives. They remained there until 4 p.m. Several of those gathered said many leaders from the sheaf-of-paddy candidate’s camp had reached out to them, but they had stayed with Mohammad Ali because they believed in ideological politics. “Now there’s no direction — I can’t figure out what to do.”
Local sources said workers and supporters gathered there in agitation after news of Swapan Fakir’s exit spread. At one point the situation grew tense. Word spread outside that workers were keeping Mohammad Ali confined. Police and law enforcement later arrived and brought the situation under control. Mohammad Ali was then escorted out of the building under a cordon of workers, put into a car and sent home.
Jaynal Abedin Khan Bablu, a former vice president of Madhupur upazila BNP, told Kalbela: “Mohammad Ali has withdrawn from the election. But he did not consult us beforehand. He can make a formal announcement through a news conference.”
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report