Gazipur 5 (Kaliganj) is the 198th constituency of the national parliament.
Gazipur 5 (Kaliganj) constituency consists of seven unions excluding Baria union of Gazipur sadar upazila, one municipality and Gazipur city corporations 39, 40, 41 and 42 number ward.
According to the updated voters list there are total 304,134 voters in this seat. Of which 150,615 are female and 153,519 are male voters.
Nomination aspirants from different parties have already started their electioneering in the area.
However this time the nomination seekers are emphasizing more on social media campaigns than anything else.
The ruling party Awami League is desperate to retain this seat in the upcoming general election.
On the other hand BNP wants to restore their popularity and regain this seat.
Jatiya Party, who once won from this constituency, also wants to return to their winning ways.
But the main competition will be between the country’s two largest political parties, Awami League and BNP.
Awami League-led 14 party grand alliance:
Representing the Awami League-led 14 party alliance, present State Minister for Women and Children Affairs Meher Afroz Chumki wants nomination from the party high command. In the 2008 and 2014 general polls she was elected MP from this constituency. She also represented this constituency through the reserved women seats in the parliament.
Kaliganj Upazila Awami League Member Mazedul Islam Selim said: “Meher Afroz Chumki has done extensive developments in the area. Because of her efforts Asia’s largest muslin cotton mills reopened. This has led to the employment of thousands of workers. She has also developed the streets, mosques, madrasas, schools and colleges of the area.”
Meher Afroz Chumki said: “My father Shahid Moyezuddin was a member of the parliament. He was very close to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He was one of the organizers of the Liberation War, convener of Agartala conspiracy case committee and general secretary of greater Dhaka district Awami League. He was martyred in the 1984 anti-autocracy movement.”
“I have been working very hard for the people of Gazipur, continuing my father’s legacy. Empowering women and the youth society has been one of my primary objectives. So I am quite hopeful that our Prime Minister and the Awami League President Sheikh Hasina will nominate me from this constituency,” she added.
Former VP of DUCSU and GS, Bangladesh Awami League Central Committee member, former MP and present Gazipur District Council chairman Akhtaruzzaman is also in the nomination race.
He was elected a Member of Parliament in 1996 general election representing Awami League.
He is also quite confident of securing party nomination.
Popular actor Akbar Hossain Pathan Farooque,who is also known as Banglar Mia Bhai, is among the nomination aspirants from the ruling party.
BNP-led 20 party alliance:
According to the local BNP activist and leaders BNP Dhaka Division Central Committee Organizing Secretary, president of Gazipur District BNP and former MP AKM Fazlul Haque Milon is expected to get party nomination.
He was elected MP in the 2001 and 2006 general elections from this constituency.
BNP activists said Milon has been preparing for the upcoming election from 2014. He has very good relationship with people of all classes and professions. He always helps who is in need thus the locals of the area are quite fond of him.
They believe that if the next election is free, fair and neutral, people of Gazipur 5 constituency will choose Milon.
Former President of Dhaka University Chhatra Dal and Central Committee Joint Convener Monir Hossain and former Dhaka University Chatra Dal Joint Convener and Central Committee Vice-President Ahmed Saimum are also in the nomination race from BNP.
Ahmed Saimum said: "I have been with the party for a long time. I have always been there for the party in any kind of crisis. If the party thinks that I should be representing them in this constituency then I am ready. I will definitely give priority to the party's decision.”
Monir Hossain said: “I am hoping our party nominates me for the upcoming election. I have good connection with the root level supporters and leaders. They want me to contest. We all are waiting for the party’s green signal.”
Jatiya Party
Jatiya Party (Ershad) Presidium Member Azam Khan is expected to be the candidate from the party.
Local JaPa leaders said Azam Khan might contest from Gazipur 4 (Kapasia) or Narsingdi 2 (Palash) constituency. If so then Azam Khan's wife, upazila Jatiya Party President and Vice President of Bangladesh Jatiya Khudra O Kutir Shilpa Association Rahela Parvin Khan Shishir will participate as Jatiya Party candidate in the upcoming general polls.
Azam Khan said: “I would like to contest from Gazipur 5 or Narnangdi 2 constituency in the approaching election. I will abide by the party’s decision and will follow the directions given by the party high command.”
On the other hand JaPa (Kazi Zafar) Presidium Member Anwara Begum is a probable nomination aspirant. Anwara Begum was a Member of the Parliament in the reserved women seats in 1986.
Other Parties
Gazipur district Jamaat-e-Islami General Secretary Khairul Hassan is expected to contest in the upcoming general polls.
Central Committee Member of Krishak Sramik Janata League Atikur Rahman is also in the race of securing nomination from his party.
Advocate Atiqur Rahman Bhuiyan said: “If the party's high command chose me then I will definitely take part in the election. All kinds of preparations have been taken.”
Maulana Gazi Ataur Rahman of Islami Andolan Bangladesh was recently announced as the party’s candidate in a rally by the party’s Amir Charmonai Pir Maulana Syed Rezaul Karim.
Standing Committee Member and Gazipur District Committee President Advocate AKM Moniruzzan Lal Miah, Central Chatra Front Publicity and Publication Secretary Aminul Islam Mahmud and Dhaka Divisio Organizing Committee Vice-President of ABM Ziaur Rahman alias Felu Haji are all seeking nomination from Zaker Party.
Down the memory lane (1973-2014)
In the first parliamentary election of 1973 present MP Meher Afroz Chumki’s father Freedom Fighter late Md Moizuddin Ahmed won from this seat.
In 1979, Mokhlesur Rahman Jitu Mia was elected MP representing BNP
In the third parliamentary election, Mokhlesur Rahman Jitu Mia won in the election as an independent candidate.
Jatiya Party’s Haji Uddin Dewan was elected MP from this constituency in the fourth general election.
Awami League leader late Dr Asfar Hossain Molla was elected a Member of Parliament in the1990 general polls.
In the sixth parliamentary election in 1996 former DUCSU VP and GS and present Chairman of Gazipur District Council Akhtaruzzaman was elected MP from Awami League.
In the eighth and ninth parliamentary election former President of Chhatra Dal and Gazipur District BNP President AKM Fazlul Huq Milon won from this constituency.
But in the 2008 and 2014 general polls Meher Afroz Chumki, daughter of late Freedom Fighter and former MP Md Moizuddin Ahmed, was elected as Member of Parliament as the candidate of Awami League-led 14 party grand alliance.