Disgruntled Sherpur-1 BNP may field rebel candidate

Sherpur district BNP president advocate Saiful Islam Kalam went to Dhaka for nomination form but he was denied. BNP leaders there told him that the Jatiya Sangsad (JS) seat was kept for Jamaat, he told this correspondent yesterday.

I was very shocked. Leaders did not evaluate our contribution to the party in the district”, he said.

"Party men love me as I have been working for them and the party for long. I shall do so whatever they suggest," he said.

Some other front ranking BNP leaders in Sherpur said the decision to keep Sherpur-1 for Jamaat have angered and frustrated the party rank and file in the district because the constituency is very important in the district.

Most of them reacted sharply when I told them that I was denied nomination paper, he said.

BNP kept 45 JS seats for its allies countrywide.

After Saiful Islam's return from Dhaka, senior BNP leaders in Sherpur held an urgent meeting at the residence of former lawmaker and party's district secretary Mahmudul Haque Rubel Friday night.

The meeting was attended by, among others, former lawmaker and whip Zahed Ali and Saiful Islam Kalam.

As per a decision of the meeting, Zahed Ali was sent to Dhaka yesterday to meet BNP secretary general Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan and request him to change the decision of the party high command and nominate a BNP man considering sentiment of local party men, sources said.

If he returns empty handed, a team of senior leaders will go to Dhaka soon.

Earlier, an urgent meeting was scheduled on Monday (December 4) at the residence of Saiful Alam Kalam to discuss possible steps if Jamaat is given ticket from the constituency but the meeting was postponed, sources said.

Sherpur district BNP office Shafiul Alam Chand while talking to this correspondent on Friday said most party men in Sherpur-1 (Sadar) constituency want change of four-party alliance candidate in the coming election.

"If required, we will hold programmes including press conference, protest meeting and sit-in in front of BNP central office against the decision of the party high command and demanding nomination for dedicated BNP leader and Sherpur district BNP president Saiful Islam Kalam," Shafiul Alam said.

Talking to this correspondent some BNP leaders and activists alleged that Jamaat leader Kamaruzzaman did not maintain contact with local BNP in last five years. He has no acceptability among party men and voters in the constituency, they claimed.

Moreover, as Jamaat candidate, he (Kamaruzzaman) was defeated in 1986, 1991, and 1996 elections. He lost to Awami League candidate Atiur Rahman Atique in 2001 election as a four-party alliance candidate, they added.

A senior BNP leader seeking anonymity said, "We have already informed some party high-ups about the sentiment here.

Some other leaders expressed surprise, saying the alliance will lose the seat in coming election also if a Jamaat man is nominated.

"We will field a rebel BNP leader as an independent candidate or join LDP if central leaders not change their unwise decision immediately, a leader said expressing his disappointment.

When contacted over cell phone yesterday, Kamruzzaman refuted the BNP leaders' claim that he does not have acceptability among people.

When this correspondent drew his attention that he lost from Sherpur-1 constituency in last four elections, he said losing election does not prove that I have no acceptability in the area.

He claimed that he is sure about getting alliance ticket and of winning the coming election from the constituency.

Some BNP leaders are dishing out such propaganda ahead of nomination to create confusion and mislead grassroots level BNP workers, he claimed.