Jatiya Party appears set to be the main opposition in the 10th Parliament.
Published : 06 Jan 2014, 04:41 AM
The party that kept the nation confused over its participation in the polls has won 33 seats -- 20 of them without a contest.
It is the second largest party after the Awami League.
It is not clear that though Jatiya Party chief HM Ershad announced backing off from the polls and even alleged confinement, his candidates contested the polls.
It also remains a mystery why Awami League or its allies did not field candidates against the Jatiya Party in as many as 20 seats.
The Awami League has won 105 seats and its candidates have returned winners in 125 seats.
Jatiya Party chairman HM Ershad had declared boycott of the polls soon after taking part in the election campaign.
He was then taken to the Combined Military Hospital escorted by RAB and has been there ever since.
Despite filing nominations on his behalf, conflicting statements began to come from the Jatiya Party over its participation and boycott.
Meanwhile, Ershad won his home-constituency, Rangpur-3 in Sunday’s polls but lost at Lalmonirhat-1 where Awami League candidate Motahar Hossain defeated the former military dictator.
However, his brother GM Quader, a minister of the interim cabinet, suffered a humiliating defeat in Lalmonirhat-3, failing to even end up as the runner-up. He was in the third place.
Jatiya Party secretary general ABM Ruhul Amin Howlader, presidium members Ziauddin Ahmed Bablu, Salma Islam and Mujibul Haque Chunnu have been elected in the polls.
Salma Islam won the Dhaka-1 seat defeating former state minister and Awami League candidate Abdul Mannan Khan.
Howlader has been elected from Patuakhali-1, Bablu from Chittagong-9 and Chunnu from Kishoreganj-3.
Jatiya Party presidium member Kazi Firoze Rashid won in Dhaka-6, Abu Hossain Babla from Dhaka-4.
Mostafizur Rahman won Kurigram-1, Mamunur Rashid Jamalpur-4, MA Hannan Mymensing-7, Yahiya Chowdhury Sylhet 2, Ziaul Haq Mridha Brahmanbaria-2, Nurul Isla Milon Comilla-8.
Twenty other Jatiya Party candidates, including Ershad’s wife and party’s presidium member Raushan Ershad, had been elected uncontested in the polls.
A total of 153 candidates had been elected without a contest of 300 parliamentary constituencies.