Moulvibazar 3 constituency has changed hands repeatedly through the years, with Awami League winning the seat five times, BNP four times and Jatiya Party once in all the elections held since independence.
Moulvibazar 3 has a total of 347,900 registered voters spread across 12 unions of Moulvibazar Sadar and eight unions of Rajnagar upazilas.
Incumbent MP Syeda Saira Mohsin, the widow of the former social welfare minister Syed Mohsin Ali, is well ahead in the race for the ruling party ticket and said she is confident of receiving the nomination and winning the election.
“My late husband was determined to implement the dreams and visions of the father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his daughter, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina,” Saira said. “I will work to that end.”
The other aspirants include Awami League’s district unit member Abdul Malik Tarafdar, who is also known as VP Shoyeb.
“I have been pursuing my political career since my student life and working as a dedicated activist,” he said. “I hope to get the nomination to run for the election under the party banner.”
A third serious contender is Swchchssebak League’s central organizing secretary, Subrata Purkayastha. “If party President Sheikh Hasina nominates me, I will try hard to win in the election,” he said.
Challengers
The district BNP has already endorsed its unit president, M Nasser Rahman, who is the son of late BNP lawmaker M Saifur Rahman.
“I hope the party high command will nominate me for the next election and voters will elect me as their MP,” he said.
Jatiya Party’s district unit President Syed Shahab Uddin is seeking a nomination under the party banner, while there are also nomination hopefuls from Bangladesh Samajtantrik Dal and Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal.