BNP changes two nominees at the last moment

The BNP has changed two nominees at the last moment of the deadline for nomination withdrawal.

Its port city unit chief Abu Sufian will contest in the parliamentary election for Chattogram-8 constituency instead of former foreign minister M Morshed Khan.

For Sherpur-2, the BNP has confirmed Fahim Chowdhury, the son of late whip Zahed Ali Chowdhury. Earlier, it nominated AKM Mokhlesur Rahman Ripon for the seat. 

Sufian and Fahim received the letters confirming the nomination along with Abu Ashfaq Khandaker for Dhaka-1, Nabiullah Nabi for Dhaka-5, AB Siddique Saju for Dhaka-14, and Nadim Mostafa for Rajshahi-5.

The nominees rushed to the returning officers from party chief Khaleda Zia’s Gulshan offices in Dhaka to submit the letters in order to confirm their candidacy as the deadline for nomination withdrawal was ending.

There were speculations that late secretary general Khondkar Delwar Hossain’s son Khondkar Abdul Hamid Dablu would get nominated for Manikganj-1 constituency, but the party finally kept trust in SA Jinnah Kabir for the seat.

Supporters of Md Abdullah and Manjurul Ahsan Munshi, who had sought nomination for Munshiganj-1 and Cumilla-4 seats, respectively, demonstrated outside the Gulshan offices throughout the day.

The BNP has nominated its Vice-Chairman Shah Moazzem Hossain for Munshiganj-1 and its ally Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal-JSD’s General Secretary Abdul Malek Ratan for Cumilla-4.

Former Dhaka mayor and BNP MP from Dhaka-6 Sadeque Hossain Khoka’s son Ishrak Hossain was the BNP frontrunner for the seat this time.

He later accepted the party decision to leave the seat for ally Gono Forum’s Executive President Subrata Chowdhury.

Emerging from the Gulshan offices, he urged the BNP activists to get behind the candidates with its paddy sheaf logo.

“The symbol is more important than who the candidate is,” he said.