MP Mustafizur alleges ‘assaulted’ election official is favouring Jamaat

Chittagong MP Mustafizur Rahman Chowdhury and his supporters have trashed the allegation of beating up Banshkhali Upazila Election Officer Jahidul Islam, saying that the polls official himself was “corrupt and works for the Jamaat-e-Islami”.

Chittagong Bureaubdnews24.com
Published : 2 June 2016, 02:38 PM
Updated : 2 June 2016, 02:38 PM

Chowdhury’s supporters demonstrated in front of the Banshkhali UNO office on Thursday demanding Jahidul’s removal

The demonstrators included followers of the Awami League chairman candidate for Baharhchharha union council and Chowdhury’s aide Tajul Islam, and Chowdhury’s uncle Rashid Ahmed, the unopposed chairman-elect of Saral union.

“The Upazila election officer is part of the Jamaat cadre. No one will go to the election under his supervision. We want his immediate removal,” Ahmed said.

Earlier, MP Chowdhury raised the same allegation against Jahidul.

“He is corrupt. He has taken a huge amount of money from the Jamaat candidates. He is a believer in the Jamaat spirit,” he told bdnews24.com.

A former leader of Bangladesh Chhatra League in Dhaka University, however, said Jahidul was a member of the Awami League’s student affiliate.

“Jahidul was a member of my committee. He is from Gopalganj. He is a very good boy,” Delwar Hossain, who was president of the BCL’s Dhaka University committee from 2002 to 2006, told bdnews24.com

bdnews24.com Chittagong Bureau Correspondent Mitoon Chowdhury said there was no Jamaat candidate in Baharchharha union, though the MP has alleged Jahidul took money from Jamaat candidates.

Besides the Awami League candidate, Tajul, there are two rebel candidates of the ruling party and another from the BNP in the union.

MP Mustafizur Rahman Chowdhury

A magistrate faced similar allegations of links to the Jamaat after jailing BCL Chittagong city unit General Secretary Nurul Azim Rony for influencing the Union Parishad election last month.

Jahidul alleged the MP and his henchmen beat him up at the UNO’s office for “not appointing election officials in line with a list provided by Tajul”.

The Election Commission later postponed voting in all union councils in Banshkhali.

Over 700 unions across Bangladesh, including 14 in Banshkhali, were set to go to the polls on Jun 4 in the last phase of the Union Parishad vote.