Bogra 4 independent candidate Ashraful Alom, popularly known as “Hero Alom”, has boycotted the election after accusing his rival candidate’s men of expelling his agents out of the polling centres.
Announcing his boycott at a press conference at Hotel Naz Garden on Sunday, Alom accused Awami League-led grand alliance candidate AKM Rezaul Karim Tansen’s supporters of throwing his polling agents out of the polling booths and not allowing voters to vote for him during Sunday’s 11th general election.
He said: “I am an independent candidate, and yet, the grand alliance candidate is afraid that I would win the election and for that, they have kicked out my agents from the polling centres and prevented voters from voting for me.”
Alom also demanded a re-election. He blamed the Election Commission officials for not being able to ensure a level playing field and asked them to resign.
When asked whether his security deposit would be returned, Alom said: “If there was a fair election, I would have become the MP. As I was not allowed to vote, therefore, they do not have to return my money.”
In reply, Tansen, the grand alliance candidate, said: “No one was stopped from casting their votes and that includes Hero Alom. Whereas, an Awami League worker named Azizul Islam was killed after BNP-Jamaat launched an attack.”
Tansen condemned the attack and demanded justice for the killing.
About Alom’s allegations, Tansen said: “No such thing took place in my constituency; it is all propaganda and nothing else.”
Meanwhile, Bogra 3 independent candidate Afzal Hossain Noyon also boycotted the polls, accusing his rival candidate, grand alliance’s Nurul Islam Talukder, of stuffing ballot boxes beforehand. Nurul, however, denied the allegation.
