With only three months left for the 12th national election, the potential candidates for the Comilla-3 (Muradnagar Upazila) seat have already started campaigning. Apart from hanging banner-festoons, they are showing their influence in the area by participating in various social activities alongside party programs.
The seat bordering the banks of the Gomti River has been in the possession of the Awami League for most of the time since 1973. Yussuf Abdullah Harun, former president of the apex business body FBCCI and former financial affairs secretary of the party, won the seat for the first time in 2018. However, he won the 2014 election as an independent candidate.
Now, the Awami League wants to continue the winning streak in the upcoming elections. On the other hand, the goal of BNP is recovery while other parties are campaigning to increase their support.
The total number of voters in the constituency is 485,053. Among them, there are 252,508 male voters and 232,543 female voters.
In the next election, ruling party MP Harun’s contenders are Comilla north district unit former general secretary Jahangir Alam Sarkar and current President of the unit Mohammad Ruhul Amin.
On the other hand, former MP Kazi Shah Mofazzal Hossain Kaykobad's younger brother, KM Mujibul Haque, is in discussion with the BNP. Kaykobad has a personal vote bank here, as he was elected multiple times. But he has been out of the country for more than a decade due to his conviction in the August 21 grenade attack case.
Hence, his chances of becoming a candidate are slim. For this reason, his younger brother is leading the race of candidates from the party in the 12th election, which he did in 2018.
Apart from Mujibul, Professor Saheda Rafiq, wife of BNP Standing Committee Member and former minister Barrister Rafiqul Islam Miah, also wants to be a candidate. She is campaigning with her followers.
Prospective candidates from the Jatiya Party (JaPa), Jamaat-e-Islami and Islami Andolan Bangladesh (IAB) are also preparing for their own positions.
Previous polls
BNP's barrister Rafiqul Islam Miah won the fifth general election in 1991. He got 46,380 votes with the paddy sheaf symbol. His closest rival was the AL’s Jahangir Alam Sarkar, who got 44,797 votes, while Kaykobad bagged 34,963 votes as an independent candidate. Barrister Rafiqul won the controversial February 15 election of 1996.
In the seventh election of June 12, 1996, Kaykobad won by getting 53,892 votes from the JaPa. He defeated the AL’s Harun, who got 50,063 votes, and Barrister Rafiqul received 47,763 votes.
In the 2001 eighth parliamentary election, Kaykobad joined the BNP and won 124,386 votes as a candidate of the Four-Party Alliance. Harun conceded but got 83,301 votes.
In 2008, BNP's Kaykobad continued his winning streak for the third consecutive time. Against his 124,386 votes, AL’s Jahangir got 109,823 votes.
In 2014, when the BNP boycotted the vote, JaPa’s Akhter Hossain was nominated as the Grand Alliance candidate. But he got only a little more than 1,000 votes. Harun won the race as an independent candidate. He got 78,647 votes. His nearest competitor was another rebel candidate of the AL, Ahsanul Alam Kishore, who is the son of Jahangir Alam Sarkar and the current chairman of Muradnagar Upazila. He got 56,336 votes.
Later, Harun retained his position in 2018 after defeating the BNP as a candidate of the Grand Alliance.
Preparations in Awami League
Current lawmaker Harun, a chartered accountant, has been in the post for the last 10 years. He is making strong efforts to get the party nomination again. For that purpose, he is trying to attract the attention of the party high command and keep the grassroots leaders and activists on his side.
The local leaders and activists think that he will have to compete with two other nominees of his own party to get the boat symbol. Meanwhile, they are also campaigning widely. They are former president of Comilla North District unit and former Muradnagar Upazila chairman Jahangir Alam Sarkar and the current president of the district unit, Mohammad Ruhul Amin.
These three leaders are unwilling to make any concessions to get party support, but they vow to work for the one who gets the nomination.
Critics within the party say the MP’s close circle is not evaluating the dedicated leaders. Over the past years, leaders and activists of the BNP-Jamaat have been placed in various positions. The current MP is also blamed for not playing any role in the development of the area. Most of the roads in the area are dilapidated.
Jahangir Alam Sarkar said that, due to the indifference of the MP, the condition of some roads is very bad. Among them, Metangor-Hyderabad, Srikail-Bangra, Jatrapur-Kamalla, Deora and Dalpar roads are the most fragile.
On the other hand, there has not been much development in the infrastructure sector of the area, especially two important educational institutions—Srikail Government College and Companiganj Badiul Alam College—have not been supervised. The quality of education at prominent institutions is deteriorating day by day.
Jahangir complained that according to the rules, there should be a model mosque in the upazila headquarters. But the present MP has built it in his own village due to corruption and nepotism. He also raised allegations of irregularities in the TR and Kabikha programs.
“Due to these reasons, people want change. This has been reflected in the last UP elections. There has been a complete drowning of MP supporters. Only 10 MP followers have won the 22 UP chairmanships with the boat symbol,” he told Dhaka Tribune.
“I was dedicated during the difficult times of the party. I came from the Chhatra League,” Jahangir said, adding that he was 100% optimistic about the nomination considering all aspects.
Senior leader Rahul Amin’s father late Wali Ahmed was also an MP of this constituency. He is now conducting mass communication with his followers to get nomination. He said that MP Harun could not bring any development project on his own outside of the government allocation. The lawmaker does not have the least relationship with the people and the grassroots leaders.
What MP Harun says
Talking to Dhaka Tribune, the current lawmaker said that after being elected, he made extensive developments in the area. Among them, about 250 new buildings have been constructed. He has established a technical college in North Thirish area. The construction work for the Muktijoddha Complex is nearing completion. Order has been brought back in Companiganj, the biggest market in the upazila. In addition, Kunderpar College has been modernized. Srikail, Chapitla, Banshkait and Companiganj Badiul Alam Colleges are being decorated.
Regarding the construction of the model mosque in his village Bhubanghar, MP Harun said there is no suitable place in the upazila Sadar. So it has been done there. In this case, he bought the land himself for Tk80 lakh and he gave the deed in the name of the Islamic Foundation.
“Apart from the main road, the roads in the remote areas have also been renovated. The other problematic roads will also be renovated soon. The people are very happy with the activities because the law and order is normal.
“So this time too, I am hopeful about getting the nomination. However, even if I don't get it, I will work for the boat symbol,” he added.
BNP and other parties
The Comilla-3 seat has always been the BNP's stronghold. No matter who the candidate is, the party's candidates have won most of the competitive elections since 1991. Among them, Barrister Rafiqul won in 1991 and in the February 15 election of 1996.
JaPa’s Kaykobad joined the BNP a few months before the 2001 elections. He was elected twice consecutively with the paddy sheaf symbol. Party activists say Kaykobad’s family has its own vote bank. Due to his absence, his younger brother KM Mujibul Haque was nominated for the seat in 2018. But he could not win. This time too, he is aspiring for the nomination.
There are allegations against this family of maintaining a reign of terror in the area with murder and terrorism from 2001-06.
Mujibul said his brother was the man behind the modern Muradnagar. He was convicted in the August 21 case due to political rivalry. “If free and fair elections are held in the future, the people of Muradnagar will give a proper answer through ballots,” he told Dhaka Tribune.
Another BNP faction is led by former minister Rafiqul Islam Miah. He has some acceptance in the area, as he has been a public representative several times. However, he has been inactive in politics for the past few years due to old age.
His wife and former Dhaka University teacher, Professor Shahida Rafiq, is traveling in the area from time to time, but she does not have much mass communication. She hopes to get the party nomination this time.
On the other hand, the Jatiya Party once had a strong position in the seat—of course, it is because of Kaykobad. He was elected MP for the first time in 1986 with the plough symbol. He was given the responsibility of being the state minister of religion. During this time, he established a position in the area.
Later in 1991, he could not win but got a significant number of votes. Later, he was re-elected from the JaPa after defeating the candidates of AL and BNP in the June 12, 1996 election.
Before the 2001 election, he joined the BNP and was elected an MP again. After that, he won from the same party in 2008. At present, the Kaykobad family is with the BNP and the JaPa is in shambles. The proof of this was in the 2014 election—JaPa leader Akhter Hossain got only a little more than 1,000 votes even as a candidate of the ruling Grand Alliance.
Jamaat's organizational base is not that strong in the constituency. The party did not field a candidate in the 1991 election. In the election of June 12, 1996, the party's central leader, Advocate Jasim UddinSarkar,r got only 3,571 votes.
If there is no alliance with the BNP this time, former vice chairman of Muradnagar Upazila Parishad, Yusuf Hakim Sohel has the possibility of contesting the election. Talking to Dhaka Tribune, Yusuf Hakim claimed that the position of the party was much stronger than at any time in the past.
On the other hand, Mujibur Rahman of Charmonai Pir's Islami Andolan Bangladesh may also contest the election this time.
