Zahangir Alam vows legal fight as appellate panel upholds EC decision to scrap his nomination in Gazipur polls

Zahangir Alam had decided to run for Gazipur mayor as an independent candidate after his failure to win the ruling party’s ticket

An election appellate authority has upheld the Election Commission’s decision to scrap Zahangir Alam’s candidacy in Gazipur mayoral polls.

The former mayor, who had decided to run for mayor as an independent candidate after his failure to win the ruling party’s ticket, vowed a legal battle against the latest decision.

Dhaka Divisional Commissioner Md Sabirul Islam rejected Zahangir’s plea challenging the EC decision after hearing it in the presence of the Awami League leader on Thursday, said Rahul Chanda, an aide to Sabirul.

“I’ll go to the High Court,” Zahangir told bdnews24.com in his instant reaction to the latest development.

Once a force in city politics, Zahangir was ejected by the Awami League and suspended from the post of Gazipur mayor over allegations of making an objectionable statement about Bangabandhu and reports of irregularities in the Gazipur city unit of the party.

However, the EC has approved the nomination of his mother, Zayeda Khatun, after looking over her documents.

Though the information provided by Zahangir in his application was accurate, it was rejected on Sunday as he had acted as a guarantor for defaulted bank loans.

In his defence, Zahangir vehemently rejected the narrative saying the company has regularised the payments, and he furnished relevant documents with his application for candidacy.

He also claimed that the bank officials testified about the regularised payments during the candidacy filing.

   

Zahangir was once the vice president of the Bangladesh Chhatra League central committee. He grabbed the spotlight in 2013 when he announced his candidacy against Azmat Ullah Khan, the Awami League’s chosen candidate, as an independent.

After much drama and a couple of meltdowns, Zahangir announced his plan not to compete against Azmat Ullah. But it was already too late, as the withdrawal cutoff date had passed.

Azmat Ullah suffered a heavy defeat against a BNP candidate despite Gazipur having long been considered an Awami League stronghold.

In 2018, Zahangir won the mayoral post after defeating his rival from the BNP camp. His huge margin of victory strengthened his political turf.

After he was expelled by the Awami League in 2021, he denied the allegations of making derogatory comments about Bangabandhu. The party reinstated him as a member in January under its amnesty scheme ahead of the general election.