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Published : 27 Jan 2026, 01:37 AM
In Dhaka-14, the word that refuses to leave the air is “Goom” -- disappearance. Under the fallen Awami League government, one candidate was abducted and vanished; another lost his brother the same way, his whereabouts still unknown.
In this election, memory itself has become a political force.
The constituency -- six wards of Dhaka North City Corporation and two unions of Savar Upazila -- is one of the most emotionally charged battlegrounds.
The BNP candidate is Sanjida Islam Tuli, the sister of the disappeared BNP leader Sajedul Islam Sumon. Searching for her brother, she built “Mayer Dak,” an organisation of families of the disappeared.
Her main rival is Barrister Mir Ahmad bin Quasem, better known as Arman, himself a victim of enforced disappearance and now the Jamaat-e-Islami candidate.
Moving from mosque to mosque, he tells his story and seeks votes, calling Tuli “sister”, while she speaks of him respectfully, a rare message of civility in a scarred land.
Yet beyond the Sheaf of Paddy and the Weighing Scale, a third symbol has barged into the contest -- the “Football”.
The Football symbol belongs to Syed Abu Bakar Siddique Shaju, former Darus Salam Thana BNP convenor, expelled for contesting independently.
Local BNP activists say Shaju held the organisation together through years of raids and arrests; now, many cannot abandon him, and the Football is expected to cut into the Sheaf of Paddy vote.
Stretching from Mirpur to Savar’s Kaundia, the constituency is dominated by working-class and lower-middle-class voters.
Security, drugs and teenage gangs dominate conversations, along with a burning demand for a bridge over the Buriganga.
There are 456,044 voters:
• 232,066 men
• 223,007 women
• Four third gender
Besides the three front-runners, the ballot also features:
• Md Osman Ali (Bangladesh Supreme Party - Ektara)
• Riaz Uddin (CPB - Sickle)
• Md Helal Uddin (Jatiya Party - Plough)
• Md Liton (Bangladesh Republican Party - Elephant)
• Md Jasim Uddin (Gono Forum - Rising Sun)
• Md Sohel Rana (LDP - Umbrella)
• Md Moniruzzaman (AB Party - Eagle)
• Nurul Amin (JSD — Star)
• Md Abu Yusuf (Islami Andolan — Hand Fan)
But Dhaka-14 knows: this is really about three symbols -- Sheaf of Paddy, Weighing Scale and Football.
KAUNDIA WAITS FOR A BRIDGE
From Shah Ali Shrine, Gabtoli Bus Terminal, the National Zoo and Botanical Garden to Mirpur stadium -- all fall inside Dhaka-14. Across the Buriganga, the unions of Kaundia and Bongaon complete the seat.
On Sunday, Tuli crossed the river by boat to begin her campaign in Kaundia, greeted with garlands and followed by locals as she handed out leaflets.
At a roadside rally she promised transformation: “Kaundia and Bongaon are the most neglected parts of Dhaka-14. With proper planning, this can become a tourist city. We want modern facilities without destroying rural heritage.
If elected, I will take responsibility for everyone’s safety. Extortionists, land grabbers, corrupt officials and drug dealers will have no place here. They will either reform -- or leave.”
She vowed a positive campaign, avoiding attacks: “I will ask for support by telling people what I can do for them.”
On Jun 24 last year, Ripa Akhter died after her boat was sucked into a vessel's propeller, a tragedy that underscores residents’ urgent demand for a bridge over the Buriganga.
Her husband said, “We only want the bridge. Only Allah knows how much we suffer. My children’s mother died crossing this river -- and we couldn’t find her body.”
IN A MOSQUE, ARMAN TELLS HIS STORY
Arman’s past is written in blood and silence. His father, Mir Quasem Ali, was hanged under Awami League rule on war-crimes charges. Days before, Arman was disappeared for eight years.
At Masjidul Baqi, Kalyanpur, after Asr prayers, he spoke: “Days before my father was hanged, I was abducted. Hours turned into days, days into months. Even prayer times were not allowed.”
He vowed: “If elected, we will end extortion. It happens openly because extortionists have political backing. That will be stopped.”
He accused the administration of bias and violations: “We see coloured posters, campaigning in schools, roadside camps.
“The administration must enforce the code strictly. ‘Fascism’s’ head has been cut off, but its agents still lurk inside the state.”
THE FOOTBALL THAT MAY DECIDE EVERYTHING
In 2018, Awami League MP Aslamul Haque crushed BNP’s Shaju using alleged police terror. His successors inherited the seat, while locals say BNP’s real nerve centre remained Shaju’s family home in Darus Salam -- repeatedly raided.
Now its gate is plastered with paper footballs, campaign vehicles crowd the yard. Shaju moves through Ward 10, opening a football tournament in Bihari Para.
Ashraf Ali, a BNP unit member, said: “Most of our unit has gone to the Football. Only a few seniors stayed with the Sheaf of Paddy. The youngsters? Not a single one is with the paddy.”
“Shaju bhai held this party together here. When people were jailed, he ran around to help. There is no alternative to him. Now the party made this decision… so the paddy vote has split.”
At Mazar Road, garage workers expressed similar uncertainty about whom to vote for.
