Actor Nipun Akter, who won the 2022 election for general secretary of the Bangladesh Film Artistes' Association (BFAA), is facing allegations of using political influence to secure her victory.
In that election, Ilias Kanchan won the presidency, and Zayed Khan was declared the general secretary after the preliminary vote count.
However, Nipun Akter, who lost the race for general secretary, did not accept the results.
The matter escalated to the court, and eventually, the court ruled in favour of Nipun Akter, allowing her to assume the position of general secretary.
The issue sparked considerable discussion and criticism at the time, although no one openly spoke out.
However, this time, many people have started to speak out. One of them is actor Peerzada Shahidul Harun, who served as the chief election commissioner in the 2022 BFAA polls.
"A powerful politician repeatedly called and pressured me to declare Nipun as the winner. At that time, this politician had direct influence and control over almost every ministry, including the Ministry of Home Affairs,” he said.
Harun also recalled a previous incident where the same politician tried to influence him during an upazila election to favor his brother-in-law.
He said, "Our election commissioners were repeatedly threatened and verbally abused. We were told that the police would come and pick us up. I never imagined calls would come from such a high level. Sheikh Selim, a person of his stature, called one of us 17 times to ensure Nipun's victory. This left us astonished."
Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim is a Bangladeshi politician who is a former Jatiya Sangsad member representing the Gopalganj-2 constituency.
