The ballot battle in Faridpur 4 constituency has gathered pace, with candidates gearing up for tomorrow’s polls.
Independent candidate Mojibur Rahman Chowdhury, alias Nixon Chowdhury, and Awami League nominee Qazi Zafarullah are competing.
Most of the electorate said the constituency saw a rare battle this year amid the boycotts.
Mojibur’s affidavit tells how he, once with only 0.38 decimal of cultivatable land, rose from rags to riches. He earned more than Tk2 crore in a single fiscal from farming.
His opponent Zafarullah has been on the trail with Tk5.5crore cash in hand.
Mojibur alias Nixon’s name also surfaced in the Padma bridge scam.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina recently asked voters to not vote for those whose names came up in the graft.
A banner in the Bhanga bazar area shows that Nixon Chowdhury calls himself as Bangabandhu’s grandson.
Some local opposition leaders were also seen working for Nixon. “A majority of Awami League leaders are with me and they want change,” Nixon claimed The opposition also fully supports Nixon.
Abu Zafar Munsi, city BNP president, told the Dhaka Tribune that some of their leaders and activists were campaigning for Nixon. “It will be our reply to the government if the independent candidate wins.”
Voters said although the opposition had not been taking part in the
polls, their support was an important factor.
Nixon expressed concerns about fair polls and sought media’s cooperation.
On the other hand Zafarullah said everything was fine.
Zafarullah’s family members became lawmakers six times with Awami League ticket since independence.
His wife Nilufar is the incumbent lawmaker of this constituency.
The two-time MP could not run in ninth elections because of a corruption case.
“I am enjoying the election. People are in a festive mode and they are working for me,” said Zafarullah.
Friday was the last day for publicity, and former president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industries AK Azad was seen campaigning for Zafarullah.