Rumeen Farhana shrugs ‘twist of fate’ for not riding ‘BNP tide’

She calls her predicament a political irony in an election season "tilting heavily towards her former party"

Rumeen Farhana, a recently expelled leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), has filed her nomination for the Brahmanbaria-2 constituency as an independent candidate, expressing a sense of irony about her political fate.

During the scrutiny of nomination papers at the Brahmanbaria deputy commissioner’s office on Friday afternoon, she reflected on the current political landscape.

She noted that with the Awami League absent from the field, a strong wave of support for the BNP has emerged.

Rumeen described her position as an independent candidate in this climate as a "play of fate”, drawing parallels to her father’s experience in the 1973 elections.

At that time, despite a massive "Boat" (Awami League) wave, her father successfully contested as an independent.

The Brahmanbaria-2 seat, comprising Sairail, Ashuganj, and part of Bijoynagar, was allocated by the BNP to its alliance partner, Maulana Zunaid Al Habib, vice-president of Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam Bangladesh’s central committee.

District Returning Officer and Deputy Commissioner Sharmin Akhter Jahan has declared the nominations of all 12 candidates in this constituency valid.

When asked about a nomination suggestion reportedly given by late BNP chairperson and former prime minister Khaleda Zia, Rumeen said: “Some senior leaders met her before she passed away. She mentioned it at that time, just days before going to hospital.

“But in politics, nothing happens outside fate. Luck plays a huge role.”

On whether the alliance’s nomination was correct, she said: “If people vote, it is the right decision. If they do not, it is the wrong decision."

She added that she has left any sense of "injustice" to the judgement of her constituents.

Rumeen claimed to have received a spontaneous response from voters, with many elders promising to secure her victory as a "reply" to her exclusion.

She clarified that she harbours no resentment towards the BNP. She recalled how Khaleda entrusted her with responsibilities that often exceeded her age and political experience -- a role she fulfilled “diligently”, most notably during her tenure in parliament from 2019 to 2022.

She emphasised that when the party asked her to resign in December 2022, she did so instantly without hesitation. She welcomed any new leadership the party chose to promote, vowing to continue her own brand of politics.

6 INDEPENDENTS DISQUALIFIED

While all candidates in Brahmanbaria-2 were cleared, six independent candidates across three other constituencies in the district saw their bids rejected on Friday.

The returning officer cited discrepancies in the mandatory 1 percent voters’ support list. In many instances, while signatures were present, voters denied signing when verified through random sampling.

The rejected candidates include Habibur Rahman and Nazrul Islam from Brahmanbaria-1 (Nasirnagar), and Arifur Rahman, Nure Alam Siddiqui, Umar Yusuf Khan, and Kazi Jahangir from Brahmanbaria-3 (Sadar-Bijoynagar).

Deputy Commissioner Sharmin confirmed that the disqualified aspirants can lodge appeals with the Election Commission between Jan 5 and Jan 9.

She also warned of strict administrative action against any breaches of the electoral code of conduct.