In Barisal district, symbols were assigned to 35 candidates across six constituencies on Monday, as confirmed by District Magistrate and Returning Officer Shahidul Islam.
The allocation took place at the conference room of the Deputy Commissioner's Office between 10am and 1pm.
One candidate, Sadiq Abdullah, is awaiting symbol allotment pending the receipt of a court order regarding his candidacy.
Emphasizing adherence to election conduct rules, the returning officer urged all candidates to actively participate and ensure peaceful elections.
A total of 56 candidates initially submitted nomination papers for the six constituencies, with 10 nominations rejected after the verification process. Following appeals, there were 46 valid candidates.
Subsequently, 11 candidates withdrew their nominations.
A court order later validated Sadiq Abdullah's nomination paper, bringing the total number of candidates to 36. However, the district magistrate and returning officer, Shahidul Islam, clarified that the symbol for Sadiq would not be allotted until the High Court's order is received.
Of the declared symbols, the Jatiya Party’s plough symbol was the most prevalent, followed by the boat, mango, and eagle symbols.
In the upcoming parliamentary elections in Barisal, six candidates will compete with the plough symbol for the Jatiya Party, four Awami League candidates will use the boat symbol, and the National People's Party (NPP) will be represented by candidates with the mango symbol in four constituencies.
Other symbols include jute for Trinamool BNP, stick for Bangladesh Cultural Liberation Organization, green coconut for Bangladesh Congress, towel for Krishak Sramik Janata League, hammer for Workers Party of Bangladesh, and torch for JaSod.
Additionally, independent candidates have received symbols such as the truck, husking pedal, watermelon, rocket, and eagle.
Notable candidates and their symbols include Awami League's Abul Hasanat Abdullah with the oat symbol, Jatiya Party's Serniabat Sekander Ali with the plough symbol, and NPP's Muhammad Tuhin with the mango symbol, all contesting in Barisal-1 (Gournadi-Agailjhara) constituency.
In Barisal-2 (Wajirpur-Banaripara) constituency, Grand Alliance candidate Rashed Khan Menon, representing Awami League with the moat symbol, will compete against candidates with symbols such as the towel, plough, jute, mango and eagle.
Barisal-3 (Babuganj-Muladi) constituency will witness candidates with symbols like sickle-hammer, plough, stick, jute, eagle, and ruck. Meanwhile, in Barisal-4 (Mehendiganj-Hijla), candidates will use symbols such as plough, jute, and eagle.
In Barisal-5 (Barisal Sadar), candidates from various parties will compete with symbols like boat, plough, mango, stick, green coconut, and truck.
Serniabat Sadiq Abdullah is expected to participate in the election with the eagle symbol in Barisal-6 (Bakerganj) constituency, with other independent candidates expressing no interest in the same symbol. Three out of four independent candidates in this constituency initially desired the eagle symbol, which was later allocated to Shahbaz Mia through lottery.
