JP candidates stage poor show

All three mayor aspirants blessed by main opposition in parliament Jatiya Party could not even bag one-eighth of the votes cast in Tuesday's city polls, resulting in the forfeiture of their security deposits.

All of them put together bagged only 13,600 votes from the 26.53 lakh people who voted, according to the results released by the office of the returning officers.

A high number of councillor aspirants even bagged more votes than the three JP leaders had got together.

"This humiliating result has tarnished the image of the party," JP lawmaker Ruhul Amin Hawlader told The Daily Star yesterday.

Hawlader, also former secretary general of the party, blamed the process of endorsing the mayor candidates in the polls.  

"We hope we will work to strengthen our party with the lesson from the mistake," he added.

The JP leaders' poor performance caused forfeiture of their security deposit. According to electoral laws, an individual needs to deposit Tk 1 lakh to become a mayor aspirant in Dhaka North City Corporation while the amount is Tk 50,000 for Dhaka South City Corporation and Chittagong City Corporation. 

If a candidate fails to get one-eighth of the total vote cast in an election, the candidate does not get the money back.

In DNCC, JP-backed mayor hopeful Bahauddin Ahmed obtained only 2,950 votes out of 8.74 lakh vote cast.

JP blessed mayor aspirant in DSCC Mohammad Saifuddin bagged 4,519 out of 9.05 lakh vote cast.

In Chittagong, JP supported candidate Solaiman Alam Sheth got 6,131 votes out of 8.68 lakh vote cast.

The JP leaders, however, might have some solace in seeing the results of other mayor aspirants who lost their security deposits too.

IN DNCC

Mahi B Chowdhury, son of former president AQM Badruddozza Chowdhury, the Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh leader, managed to bag only 13, 407 in the DNCC.

Abdullah Al Kafee, a candidate backed by CPB-BSD, secured only 2,475 votes.

Gono Sanghati Andolan-backed candidate Zonayed Saki got only 7,370.

TV star Nader Chowdhury, who got support of Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, got 1,412 votes.

Candidates Sheikh Md Fazle Bari Masud got 18,050, AYM Kamrul Islam 1,216, Kazi Mohammad Shahidullah 2,968, Chowdhury Irad Ahmed Siddiqui 915, Moazzem Hossain Khan Majlish 1,095, Anisuzzaman Khokon 900, Zaman Bhuiyan 1,140, Shamsul Alam Chowdhury 982 and Sheikh Shahiduzzaman got 923 votes.

They all have lost their security deposits.

IN DSCC

AL former MP Ghulam Mawla Rony managed to get only 1,887 votes while Bazlur Rashid Feroz, a candidate backed by CPB-BSD, got only 1,029 votes.

Abu Naser Muhammad Masud Hossain got 2,197, ASM Akram 682, Mohammad Ayub Hussein 354, ASM Asaduzzaman Ripon 928, Dilip Bhodro 669, Mashiur Rahman 508, Mohammad Shafi Ullah Chowdhury 512, Akhtaruzzaman 362, Abdur Rahman 14,784, Abdul Khalek 550, Zahidur Rahman 988, Baharaine Sultan Bahar 312 and Rezaul Karim Chowdhury secured 2,173 votes.

All of them have lost their security deposits.

IN CCC

Arif Moinuddin got 1,774, MA Matin 11,655, Shafiul Alam 680, Abul Kalam Azad 1,385, Alauddin Chowdhury 2,159, Wajed Hossain Bhuiyan 9,668, Saifuddin Ahmed Robi 2,661, Syed Sajjad Zoha 845 and Husein Mohammad Mujibul Haq got 4,215 votes.

They have lost their security deposits.