Following extraordinary turn of events, BNP is now fielding the youngest ever female candidate in the 11th general election.
Dr Sunsila Jabrin Priyanka, 25, is set to contest the December 30 polls from Sherpur 1 (Sadar) constituency with the party’s ticket.
She has already started her full-fledged campaign in the area after the electoral symbols were allotted to all political parties and candidates by the Election Commission last week.
Born on June 22, 1993, Priyanka is the daughter of BNP’s Sherpur district unit General Secretary Dr Hazrat Ali.
According to candidate information submitted to the Election Commission, Priyanka obtained her Secondary School Certificate in 2008 and Higher Secondary Certificate in 2010 from Dhaka’s Agrani School and College.
She also achieved her MBBS degree in 2016. Currently, she works as a lecturer in the microbiology department of Anwer Khan Modern Medical College and Hospital in Dhanmondi.
BNP, along with Jatiya Oikya Front and the 20-Party Alliance it leads, had nominated 16 female candidates in 300 constituencies around the country.
Apart from Priyanka, BNP had nominated her father Hazrat, Jatiyatabadi Jubo Dal’s Sherpur district unit President Shafikul Islam Masud, and BNP’s Sadar upazila unit former president Fazlul Kader.
Hazrat was the frontrunner from Sherpur 1 as the BNP candidate. But the Election Commission cancelled his nomination over loan defaults with four banks.
Although he has been taking preparations for a long-time to contest the polls with BNP’s sheaf of paddy, Hazrat Ali was arrested three months ago after he was accused in more than 10 cases and is still behind bars.
BNP candidate in Sherpur 1 Dr Sunsila Jabrin Priyanka campaigns in the electoral area on December 14, 2018 | Collected
Nomination bids of Masud and Kader were also cancelled over their failure to submit necessary documents with the nomination forms.
That left Priyanka under the scanner of the Election Commission, but she cruised through the scrutiny and later received the clearance for her candidature from that seat.
Sherpur 1 only has the Sadar upazila in it – which comprises of one municipality and 14 union parishads – with a total of 360,787 voters.
Campaign and young voters
The physician, with her young mindset and party goals, is now carrying out her campaign in the Sherpur 1 constituency.
She is also gaining popularity in long strides due to her role in many past instances in providing free treatment to the people in shoal areas of the constituency through medical camps.
Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, Priyanka said that the people of Sherpur 1 constituency now have a BNP candidate after 22 years to represent them.
Because of that, she said, local BNP leaders and activists were elated and had thrown their support behind her.
Priyanka added: “People are eagerly waiting to give their votes to establish democracy. I am hopeful that I will win, if a free and fair election is held on December 30.”
Unless there are any radical, last moment surprises, Priyanka will battle it out on the election day with ruling Awami League’s heavyweight candidate Md Atiur Rahman Atik, who is also a four-time MP from Sherpur 1.
Apart from him, Priyanka’s other major contender is Jatiya Party’s Md Ilias Uddin.
From left, Awami League’s Sherpur 1 candidate Md Atiur Rahman Atik and Jatiya Party’s aspirant Md Ilias Uddin | Collected
Being only 25 years old is, however, becoming an advantage for her during electioneering. Her leading role and involvement in the medical camps at this young age is catching the attention of the youths and new voters, who say they could see Priyanka representing them in the 11th parliament.
BNP’s electoral symbol may also prove to be a major weapon in Priyanka’s arsenal in winning the polls – as the locals are mostly hyped about having a candidate of the party after 22 years.
The last time a BNP leader, Md Nazrul Islam, with the sheaf of paddy symbol won from this seat was in the sixth general election in 1996. Nazrul had contested the next polls too, but lost.
BNP’s National Standing Committee member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury told the Dhaka Tribune that they wanted to groom other young and educated party leaders like Priyanka to contest the polls in future.
“Priyanka has the party’s full support behind her. She has done some great work, and is receiving much positive feedback from the people. Hopefully, that will continue. She has come this far, including receiving the party nomination, because she is capable.”
Khasru, however, said that they knew Awami League’s Atik was a heavyweight contender. “But we are still hopeful that Priyanka will win. She has been working for the people of her constituency long before she was a candidate. She will continue the good work in future if elected.”
Obstruction to electioneering
Meanwhile, Jatiya Oikya Front-backed BNP aspirant Priyanka on Tuesday held a press conference to protest the obstructions in her campaign and police harassment.
At the event at her campaign office in Sherpur town’s Madhabpur, she alleged that arrests of BNP leaders and activists, including her father Hazrat Ali, in “fictitious cases” were still on.
Sunsila Jabrin Priyanka addresses a press briefing at her campaign office in Sherpur's Madhabpur on December 18, 2018 | Dhaka TribuneShe claimed that Awami Jubo League and Bangladesh Chhatra League activists had vandalized several of their campaign offices till now.
Priyanka further alleged: “Local voters are hyped to see the victory of the BNP candidate who is contesting in this seat after 22 years. That’s why the local police administration is not allowing us to be on the campaign trail in order to help the ruling party aspirant win.
“Police’s Detective Branch officials are either arresting our men or threatening to arrest them even after the allocation of the electoral symbols.”
She also claimed that they were even unable to hang her posters in and around her campaign office, which has been closed for the past four days due to police harassments.
Additional reporting by Nawaz Farhin Antara and Tanjir Rahman