BNP leaders in Sylhet are blaming the selection of candidates for the defeats in some upazila elections.
They said candidates in Kompaniganj and Golapganj in Sylhet, and Chatak, Kulaura and Doara in Sunamganj were defeated for that reason.
Dr Shakawat Hossain Jibon, deputy organising secretary of Sylhet’s divisional BNP unit, and a member of the candidate selection committee, admitted as much, saying: “We were misguided. But we are happy with the results.”
Before the elections, a three-member committee led by Shomsher Mobin Chowdhury, vice-chairman of Sylhet BNP, was formed to select candidates.
The committee members formed another nine-member sub-committee. The sub-committee primarily chose the candidates.
Shomsher Mobin Chowdhury changed the names of the candidates in some upazilas, said some leaders, adding the change had brought defeat to some candidates.
A reliable source in Sylhet BNP said Mohammad Shahab Uddin, Kompaniganj Upazila BNP organisational secretary, was initially selected in that upazila. Eventually, however, the upazila BNP unit’s former president, Ali Ahmed, was chosen by central leaders to stand instead.
He was expelled from the party for breaching party rules, but later the expulsion notice was cancelled. As a result, the candidate lost the election by a huge margin.
Ali Ahmed got 1,332 votes, while the BNP’s rival candidate, Shabuddin, got 6,962 votes. The winning candidate, Awami League’s Abdul Basir, got 25,320 votes and another AL backed candidate got 20,077 votes.
Similarly, the committee selected former union chairman Nasirul Haque in Gopalganj upazila. But the central party revised the decision and selected Dilal Ahmed.
Dilal got 12,905 votes and rival candidates Nasirul Huq Shahin and Nazmul Islam Chowdhury got 14,386 votes and 23,602 votes respectively.
Most of the local party leaders supported the local BNP’s General Secretary Nizam Uddin in Chatak upazila under Sunamganj. But some BNP leaders supported the Jamaat-backed candidate Rezaul Karim.
Rezaul Karim got 24,123 votes and Nizam Uddin got 22,227 votes. The Awami League backed candidate Aliur Rahman Chowdhury Bakul received 30,823 votes.
In Doarabazar upazila, Harun-ur-rashid was selected as the candidate and got 13,951 votes. He was supported by the Milon group, while members of the Mizan group supported Shahjahan Master. He received 6,761 votes. Idris Ali Bir Protik of the Awami League won the election after netting 27,115 votes, and his nearest rival was the Jamaat-backed Dr Abdul Kuddus with 21,881 votes.
In Kulaura upazila of Moulovibazar, the central committee selected Abdul Hannan instead of BNP candidate Shaokotul Islam Shaku. Shaku got 37220 votes while Hannan got 20,420 votes.
ASM Kamrul Islam, the Awami League-backed candidate, won the election with 46,420 votes.
Seeking anonymity another leader said their suggestions were ignored during the selection of candidates.
Shomsher Mobin Chowdhury could not be reached for comment.
