BNP-nominated candidate for Dhaka-18 constituency by-polls, SM Jahangir Hossain has claimed that his polling agents were kicked out from several centres by ruling party men and law enforcers.
He made the claim after casting his vote around 9:45am members at Uttara’s Malekabanu Adarsha Bidyaniketan centre.
“I have visited at least three voting centres since the morning, and found that many voters as well as BNP polling agents were kicked out by Awami League men with the help of police,” he said.
“Certain areas around the voting camps are restricted, but ruling party associates breached those restrictions to influence the voting. They made voters anxious. They will also attempt to capture voting centres,” Jahangir feared.
Also read: Dhaka-18 by-polls: BNP agents hardly available, JP agent confused
“Four out of eight electronic voting machines (EVMs) were not working at the Rajuk Uttara Model College centre. Also, I myself caught a ruling party agent red-handed casting a vote for another voter. He later apologized,” the BNP contender added.
Expressing hope of winning, he said: “I will stand at the field till the end. The outcome of the voting will depend on how freely people can cast their votes.”
“This election could have been a way to substantiate the popularity of Awami League. But the ruling party has not taken that risk, and instead has started using force to subjugate us,” he added.
