AL’s Liton leads BNP's Bulbul by huge margin in Rajshahi mayor race

Liton polled 165,096 with boat symbol against Bulbul's 77,700 with paddy sheaf, according to results from all 134 centres published in on Monday midnight.

Returning Officer Syed Amirul Islam announced the results from the control room set up at Laxmipur Laboratory School after the voting was held from 8am to 4pm.

Awami League’s mayoral candidate AHM Khairuzzaman Liton votes at the Satellite Town Primary School centre in the Rajshahi City Corporation.

BNP’s mayoral candidate Mosaddek Hossain Bulbul squats on the Islamia College field after allegations of vote rigging at the Rajshahi City Corporation polling centre.

In the last polls to the city corporation with 318,138 voters in 2013, Bulbul defeated Liton by a margin of 47,000.

Outgoing mayor Bulbul stayed away from voting, claiming it would be ‘meaningless to vote amidst large-scale irregularities’.

He also staged a sit-in protest in front of a polling station for hours during the balloting.

Liton described Bulbul’s activities as the ‘manifestation of sick politics’.

“The people of Rajshahi had to wait five long years for this moment. They had to suffer pain and sorrow of not getting anything from the person who had taken charge talking about development,” he said.

Commemorating his father National Leader AHM Qamaruzzaman and the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, he urged his supporters to refrain from celebrating in August, the month for mourning Bangabandhu’s assassination.

Liton said he wanted to continue the work he had started as the mayor and take up many new tasks and urged everyone’s advice and help in this regard.

He also hoped his victory will impact the upcoming general election positively in the northern divisions of Rajshahi and Rangpur.