Jatiya Party Secretary General Mujibul Haque Chunnu today said those who were expelled from the party spread the fake news that Raushan Ershad declared herself chairman of the party.

"There was no such incident in Jatiya Party and there is no scope of this happening," he told The Daily Star.

Sources close to Raushan, the party's chief patron and leader of the opposition in parliament, said that she made no such announcements. 

Chunnu said the expelled people had used the name of Raushan to make up the fake news.

"I already talked with JP leaders who were said to have signed a letter [expressing no confidence in incumbent Chairman GM Quader] to Raushan Ershad and they told me that they hadn't signed any such letter," Chunnu also said.

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Raushan Ershad 'declares herself chairman of Jatiya Party': press release

According to the party's charter, there is no scope for anyone to become chairman of JP as per his or her will, neither can anyone relieve any leader from the party in such a manner, he said.

Earlier today, two press releases on two Whatsap groups, where Jatiya Party news is disseminated, said Raushan had declared herself the Jatiya Party Chairman. 

The Daily Star was not able to independently verify the authenticity of the press releases. 

GM Quader is currently in India on a three-day visit, and is scheduled to return today. 

Jatiya Party unveiled its nominees for 287 constituencies yesterday.

The JP said it did not get any nomination seekers for a handful of constituencies and party ticket winners for the rest would be announced later.   

It said it left Mymensingh-4 vacant for Leader of the Opposition and JP Chief Patron Raushan Ershad, who is yet to collect her nomination form.

Raushan's son Rahgir Almahe (Saad Ershad) MP and opposition chief whip Moshiur Rahman Ranga also did not collect nomination forms for the January 7 national election.

JP Secretary General Mujibul Haque Chunnu made the list public at a press conference at the JP chairman's Banani office.

The unveiling of the list widened the gap between JP Chairman GM Quader and Raushan, said a number of JP leaders.

Quader is the MP from Lalmonirhat-3. But this time, he will run from Rangpur-3, where Saad Ershad is the incumbent MP.

Rangpur-3 was JP founder HM Ershad's constituency. After his demise, his son Saad Ershad was elected in a by-election.

Quader will also run from Dhaka-17 while his wife Sherifa Quader will take part in the election from Dhaka-18.

HM Shahriar Asif, a relative of Quader, will run from Ranpur-1. Ranga is the incumbent there.

Speaking to The Daily Star, Saad Ershad yesterday said he wanted party ticket for Rangpur-3, but the leaders loyal to the party chairman did not give him the nomination form.

"They [Quader and his followers] actually want to wipe out the names of HM Ershad's family members. You can visit my electoral area and ask the locals how many development works I have implemented there," he said.

A JP leader loyal to Raushan said the opposition leader has sought an appointment with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to discuss the elected-related issues.

"We are now waiting for the prime minister's decision regarding the conflict between Raushan Ershad and GM Quader over nominations," the JP leader told this correspondent wishing anonymity.

Golam Moshi, political secretary to the opposition leader, told The Daily Star last night that they were "forced out of the electoral race" which might lead to another split in the JP.

Asked about not naming any candidate for Mymensingh-4, Chunnu at the press conference said, "Raushan Ershad is the honourable chief patron of our party. Showing respect to her, we have not fielded any candidate for that seat."

About not nominating Saad Ershad, he said the lawmaker did not collect and submit the party's nomination form.

On the issue of Ranga, the JP leader said he was expelled from the party. "How will he get Jatiya Party ticket?"

Regarding the Raushan-Quader conflict, Chunnu said, "If there is any differences between them, it is their family matter. But we don't have any dispute with her in the party."

Although Chunnu said they have named candidates for 289 seats, in fact the figure was found to be 287.

"We have named more than one candidates in some seats due to intra-party conflict in those constituencies," he added.

The JP has named two candidates each in 10 constituencies.

Asked about not nominating Rustum Ali FarajiMP of Pirojpur-3, Chunnu said although he had been involved in the party for long, they now doubt his loyalty.

The main opposition party in parliament has nominated eight women, including Salma Islam (Dhaka-1).

Chunnu said the JP was assured of a free and fair election. "If the election is free and fair, we will have majority in parliament and assume power."

Voting in Rangpur City Corporation elections began this morning using electronic voting machines (EVMs).

The voting started at 229 polling centres at 8:30am, which is scheduled to continue till 4:30pm.

Voters standing in queue at Alamnagar Collegepara Government Primary School on December 27, 2022. Photo: Kongkon Karmaker

This is the third election since the city corporation was formed in 2012.

Due to cold weather and fog, the voter turnout at the Mahiganj upazila's polling centres were low in the beginning.

Photo: Star

As the day progressed, the presence of voters outside the Mahiganj Government Primary School and Mahiganj College centres of ward-29 started to increase.

Mofazzal Hossain, 70, a voter at Mahiganj College, told The Daily Star that there was no problem in casting his vote using the EVM machine.

Salma Begum, 44, a voter at Mahiganj Government Primary School, said she cast her vote early in the day. "It was a bit challenging for me to come to the polling station because of cold and fog," she added.

She also said she didn't face any problem while casting her vote using EVM machine.

The Awami League nominee for mayor is Hosne Ara Lutfa Dalia while the JP nominee is Mostafizar Rahman, who was also elected mayor in 2017.

The total number of voters in Rangpur City Corporation is 4,26,470.

Rangpur is known as a JP stronghold and the Rangpur JP General Secretary SM Yasir is one of the key campaigners for Mostafizar.

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Rangpur City Helm: AL, JP battling it out today

The Election Commission on Sunday said there were concerns over violence at 86 of the 229 polling centres. Additional law enforcers have been deployed at those centres, said Election Commissioner Begum Rashida Sultana earlier.

Members of police, Bangladesh Border Guard, Rab and Armed Police Battalion (APBn) have been deployed to maintain law and order.

Besides, 33 executive magistrates and 16 judicial magistrates have been deployed to take legal action against rule violators.

Apart from AL and JP nominees, seven others are running for mayor. AL leader Latifur Rahman is running as an independent candidate.

The BNP boycotted the election.

Since its formation a year ago, the new Election Commission has largely failed to gain the opposition parties' trust, said political analysts.

When Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal in September unveiled a work plan for the next national election, he said gaining the political parties' confidence was a major challenge.

But despite opposition from major political parties like the BNP and the Jatiya Party, the EC in August announced that Electronic Voting Machines would be used in up to 150 constituencies.

However, the government in January shelved a plan to buy two lakh EVMs that would be needed to use in 150 constituencies.

The last two general elections were not held in a free or fair manner, and that eroded the general public's faith in ECs, said Badiul Alam Majumdar, secretary of Shusashoner Jonno Nagorik (Shujan).

The current EC has yet to do anything that would change people's perception, he said, adding that the EC's first year was marred by controversies.

In 2014 national polls, 153 of the 300 MPs were elected unopposed, and in 2018, widespread ballot box stuffing was reported the night before the election day. The commissions that held the polls were widely criticised for these matters.

The current EC took office on February 27, 2022.

The next day, Chief Election Commissioner Awal urged political parties to stay in the election race.

However, the current election commissioners on several occasions said it was not their job to ensure all parties participated in polls.

Since its formation, the EC's discussions on the preparation of an election roadmap and the use of EVMs were shunned by the BNP and several other political parties.

BNP Standing Committee Member Khandakar Mosharraf Hossain said, "Our decision is that we will not participate in an election under the current government. We were not part of the process in which this Election Commission was formed, had not given them recognition, and had not taken part in any activities of the commission. We have not changed our stance and that is why we did not join the talks."

It is impossible for the EC to hold a free and fair election under the incumbent government, he added.

In June, the EC asked Awami League MP AKM Bahauddin Bahar of Cumilla-6 to leave the constituency for allegedly violating the electoral code of conduct by joining the campaign trail of an individual running for mayor.

Days later, Awal said Bahar was not asked, but merely requested to leave Cumilla ahead of the city corporation polls.

In May, Election Commissioner Anisur Rahman told an event in Madaripur that the CEC would give $10 million to anyone who could find EVMs' faults.

A few days later, CEC Awal denied making any such offer.

At a meeting among deputy commissioners and superintendents of police in October, there was a commotion after Anisur talked about allegations that many officers were biassed, and they did not properly spend the government funds.

Contacted, Election Commissioner Brig Gen (Retd) Ahsan Habib Khan said, "The controversies that are being talked about are no big deal. In some cases, misunderstandings led to controversies."

The EC earned praise from many after suspending Gaibandha-5 by-polls in October amid numerous reports of irregularities, said election expert Abdul Alim, adding that the way it held the Cumilla city polls was also praiseworthy.

"But the six recent by-elections were marked by poor turnout of voters," he said.

Meanwhile, CEC Awal yesterday again urged the major political parties to reach a consensus so that a participatory and acceptable election could be held.