Gono Odhikar’s Rashed to contest with ‘paddy sheaf’, Nur stays with ‘truck’

Nurul Haque Nur says the decision has been taken as part of an electoral strategy

Gono Odhikar Parishad General Secretary Rashed Khan will fight for the Jhenaidah-4 seat using the “sheaf of paddy” symbol in the parliamentary polls, leaving his party post.

The party’s President Nurul Haque Nur said the decision was made collectively as a “strategy to win” the election.

Nur will stand from Patuakhali-3 under Gono Odhikar’s “truck” symbol.

The arrangement follows an understanding between BNP and its partners in the simultaneous movement.

BNP has reportedly allocated Jhenaidah-4 to Rashed and Patuakhali-3 to Nur as part of their broader alliance strategy.

Under electoral regulations, candidates within an alliance must run for parliament with a registered party symbol.

Although the “truck” is the official logo of Gono Odhikar Parishad, Rashed’s shift to the paddy sheaf triggered rumours on Friday evening that he was joining the BNP, with several media outlets claiming so.

Clarifying the party's stance in a late-night social media post, Nur brushed aside the defection claims.

"As a strategy to win the election, the party has decided that [Rashed] will run with the sheaf of paddy from Jhenaidah-4, while I will contest from Patuakhali-3 with the party symbol, the truck," he wrote.

To comply with legal requirements, Rashed must officially step down from his party role and receive a formal nomination from the BNP to use the symbol.

When approached for comment, Rashed told bdnews24.com: "I do not wish to make any remarks on this matter at the moment."

He later referred to Nur’s Facebook post, saying: “For now, please see that post.”