‘My party post is gone, but my people are still with me’

Independent candidate from Brahmanbaria-2 and recently expelled BNP leader Barrister Rumeen Farhana has said losing her party position has not weakened her grassroots support.

She made the remarks on Monday afternoon at a meeting in Shakhaiti village in Sarail upazila in Brahmanbaria.

“People told me I could have become an MP from a reserved seat or even gone to the upper house. They asked why I chose to run independently when the party could come to power,” said Rumeen.

“I replied that it is the hardship, effort, financial support, love, and trust of the people of my constituency that have brought me this far,” she added.

Referring to her expulsion from the BNP, she said she could not abandon her people simply because she no longer holds a party post. “The post is gone, but my people are still with me,” she said.

She said that even if the party fields an alliance candidate, local voters’ affections continue to surround her.

Recalling her father, Language Movement activist Oli Ahad, she noted he won the Brahmanbaria-2 seat as an independent in 1973 but was not allowed to work.

“He had many dreams. I want to fulfil my father’s dreams by winning this election,” she said.

The BNP alliance has nominated Jamiat-e-Ulama-e-Islam Bangladesh central committee vice-president Maulana Junaid Al Habib for the Brahmanbaria-2 seat. Farhana was expelled from the BNP on December 30.