Seven candidates running with the “sheaf of paddy” electoral symbol were attacked allegedly by ruling party men yesterday while 130 supporters of the Awami League and the BNP were injured across the country in polls violence.

In Khagrachhari, minutes after a campaign office was attacked about a kilometre away, two people were shot dead at a market in Panchhari upazila in broad daylight. It could not be confirmed immediately whether the killings were election related.

Late last night in Nawabganj of Dhaka-1 constituency, at least 12 journalists were injured when they were attacked by masked men at a guest house.

BNP candidates Moudud Ahmed was attacked in Noakhali-5, Miah Nuruddin Apu in Shariatpur-3, Shaheed Uddin Chowdhury Annie in Lakshmipur-3, Lutfar Rahman Khan Azad in Tangail-3, Sabina Yesmin Chhobi in Natore-2, Sunsila Jabrin Priyanka in Sherpur-1, and 20-party candidate Monir Hossain was attacked in Narayanganj-4, reports our correspondents.

Annie and Apu were hurt in the attacks.

A clash erupted between supporters of Annie and AL men at Shantirhat Bazar area of Lakshmipur Sadar. Annie and around 25 BNP and 10 AL men were wounded.

Kushakhali union parishad AL President Nurul Amin said that it was the BNP men who attacked the AL supporters.

Officer-in-Charge (OC) Abul Kalam Azad of Chandraganj Police Station said law enforcers went to the spot and fired shots in the air to disperse the feuding groups. He claimed that two policemen were injured.

In Potti area of Shariatpur's Goshairhat upazila, Apu and 25 of his supporters were injured when attacked by allegedly AL men.

Syed Nasir Uddin, general secretary of Goshairhat AL, claimed that ruling party men were not involved and speculated that it could have been the result of BNP's internal conflict.

Moudud in a press conference yesterday alleged that AL men carried out the attack in Notun Bazar area of Kompaniganj. Five of his supporters were injured and two vehicles were vandalised in the incident.

Noakhali AL organising secretary Mizanur Rahman in a separate press conference at Kompaniganj claimed that Moudud was lying to get favours from the administration.

Kompaniganj OC said he did not know about any attack on Moudud.

An Awami League activist, who came under attack allegedly by BNP men, being treated at Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital in Barishal. Photo: Collected/Star

At least five BNP men were injured when alleged AL men attacked BNP candidate Chhobi and her supporters when they were campaigning in Tebaria Bazar area of Natore.

Natore AL Joint Secretary Mortuja Ali said they did not know anything about the attack.

Abul Hasnat, additional superintendent of police (sadar circle) of the district, said law enforcers went to the spot and brought the situation under control.

BNP candidate Priyanka yesterday alleged that 19 of her supporters were injured when AL men attacked them in Ghughurkandi Bazar area of Sherpur.

AL candidate of the same constituency Atiur Rahman Atik claimed that it was the AL men who were attacked by BNP supporters.

OC of Sherpur Sadar Police Station said a running battle was fought by the two groups but no one filed any complaints.

Around 10 BNP men were injured and a vehicle was vandalised when the motorcade of BNP leader Lutfar was attacked allegedly by AL men in Atharodana area of Tangail's Ghatail upazila.

Dilruba Ahmed, assistant returning officer and UNO of Ghatail, said she had sent police to the spot after hearing the news of trouble.

Shahidul Islam, coordinator of the local AL candidate's campaigning team, denied the allegation of AL men's involvement and said the BNP candidate was spreading rumours to tarnish the image of his party candidate.

In Narayanganj, alleged AL men attacked Monir Hossain when he was campaigning near the main gate of Rupayan Residential Area in Fatullah upazila.

Narayanganj city AL Joint Secretary Sha Nizam said no AL men attacked Monir.

Mohammad Shajalal, inspector (investigation) of Fatullah Model Police Station, said he did not get any complaints.

Meanwhile, in Narsingdi, two people beat up Bahauddin Milton, personal secretary to BNP standing committee member and party nominee for Narsingdi-3 Abdul Moin Khan on Palash upazila nirbahi officer's office premises around 12:30pm.

In Pabna, at least 10 people were injured when AL and BNP men clashed over electioneering in Sagarkandi Bazar area of Sujanagar around noon.

Miah Nuruddin Apu, BNP contender for Shariatpur-3, injured in an attack by alleged ruling party men, receives treatment at a local hospital. Photo: Collected/Star

In Chandpur, another 10 were injured in a clash between supporters of he AL and the BNP in Haimchar upazila.

In Barishal, 10 AL men were injured in an attack allegedly carried out by BNP men in Pouroshavar More area in Banaripara upazila.

So far, motorcades and campaigns of at least 45 candidates of Jatiya Oikyafront and 20-party alliance have been attacked allegedly by AL men, according to media reports. Over 1,050 people, mostly BNP men, have been injured in the electoral violence since campaigning began on December 10.   

The army was deployed across the country yesterday to help ensure a peaceful atmosphere and maintain law and order for the December 30 polls.

Our correspondents in Chattogram, Mymensingh, and Jhenidah reported that Jatiya Oikyafront candidates and their supporters were gearing up their campaign activities after the army was deployed.

KHAGRACHHARI

Minutes after the election camp of Nutan Kumar Chakma, an independent candidate backed by United People's Democratic Front (UPDF), was vandalised and torched, gunmen opened fire at Pujgang Mukh Bazaar just a kilometre away.

Chikko Chakma, 24, a tea-stall owner from Lendia para, and Sohel Rana, 35, a road construction worker of Dohazari in Chattagram, were killed.

The UPDF claimed that Chikko was its supporter and in a statement to the press alleged that the attacks were carried out to “unleash a reign of terror in the hills and influence the polls by panicking people”.

The UPDF blamed Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samity (reformist) for the killings and the attack on the election camp.

Tawhidul Islam, assistant returning officer and the UNO of Panchhari upazila, said regional groups trying to establish supremacy was the reason for the gun attack.

He told The Daily Star that the incident was not related to the upcoming polls. “I am not aware of any vandalism or torching of any camp in another area since I only visited the place of the gun attack.”

Locals said seven to eight armed men went to market around noon and shot Chikko from close range killing him on the spot. Sohel, who was working on the road nearby, was shot during that time and he died of his injuries later.

Minutes before the shooting, another group of 10 to 15 men, some carrying firearms, attacked the election camp and torched it. They fired several shots during the incident, said a local wishing anonymity.

Nurul Alam, officer-in-charge of Panchhari Police Station, claimed that the killings were not related to the election. He said it was due to conflict between groups.

The OC said police reaching the spot found nobody there. They recovered the bodies from the scene.

Conflicts of regional political parties led to 43 people being killed in Khagrachhari and Rangamati in one year.

JOURNOS ATTACKED

About 12 journalists covering the election and campaigns were injured and 16 vehicles they were using were vandalised in Nawabganj when unidentified criminals attacked them at a guest house close to the Nawabganj Police Station.

At least 40 journalists and support staffers of Jamuna TV and Bangla daily Jugantor were staying at Shamim Guest House in Kolakopa Bandura area, said Jugantor's Senior Reporter Sirajul Islam.

He said around 10:30pm, 30 to 35 people covering their faces with scarfs stormed the guest house and attacked the journalists and staffers of Jamuna TV and its sister concern Jugantor.

In the 20-minute attack, they ransacked several rooms on the third floor and later vandalised about 16 parked vehicles, he said.

He claimed that the journalists were confined to the guest house and that Shamim Khan, Dhamrai correspondent of Jugantor, was missing since the incident.

Sushant Sinha, special correspondent of Jamuna TV, echoed Sirajul. Sinha, who was at the guest house, said they called the local UNO and the OC for help which did not arrive.

Jugantor staff reporter Yasin said the attackers were armed with iron rods, hockey sticks, and sharp weapons.

The Daily Star called the superintendent of police of Dhaka and the OC of Nawabganj Police Station for comments but they did not pick up their phones.

Quamrul Hasan, sub-inspector of Nawabganj Police Station, was seen on Jamuna TV to have arrived at the scene later to collect evidence and was heard saying that they would look into the matter.

Settling the discord over seat-sharing with alliance partners and keeping leaders and activists united to work for the party nominees are the major challenges the ruing Awami League is faced with ahead of the parliamentary polls.

Things are trickier for the BNP. Apart from appeasing the combine partners with seats, staying in the race defying the odds would be its main challenge.

Despite a series of meetings with allies, the AL could not resolve the seat-sharing issue. The party had distributed nomination letters among 281 leaders for 264 constituencies.

But what put it in more trouble is the dissidents. The high command on several occasions warned the party men of expulsion for life if anyone files nominations going against its decision.

But a number of aspirants have apparently ignored the warning.

The Election Commission data shows at least 498 aspirants submitted nomination papers as independent candidates.

According to The Daily Star's tally, at least 70 AL leaders filed nomination papers as independent candidates from 43 constituencies in 21 out of 64 districts. The actual number could be higher.

On the other hand, the BNP opted for fielding multiple candidates for almost every seat. Some 696 BNP leaders filed nominations for 295 constituencies on the party ticket.

Many of the BNP leaders are still uncertain whether the party will finally pick them as nominees.

A number of AL grassroots leaders expressed hope that they would be able to resolve all the disputes before the polls and work together to ensure the party's victory.

Rezaur Rahim Lal, vice president of Pabna district AL, admits that there are some internal conflicts since it's a big political party.

"We are trying to end all the conflicts ahead of the polls. We are hopeful that all the party men will be united for the nominees.”

Asaduzzaman, general secretary of Rajshahi district AL, said the party has no division but there are some differences among leaders over securing nominations. That has to be solved and those who got the nominations should play a big role in fixing it.

"Those who will be denied the ticket should also come up to strengthen the party and ensure its win. The upazila committees have already begun working to that end and they will form committees to oversee the electioneering."

On the other hand, BNP leaders say the party men are united despite troubles due to "police harassment". The party's victory will be ensured if leaders and activists can campaign properly.

Golam Mostafa Mamun, organising secretary of Rajshahi BNP, said they have doubt whether the candidates and their supporters would be able to campaign freely.

"There are threats. But our leaders are united and they will work for the party candidates. If we can do so and people can cast their votes, victory is ours," he said.

Habibur Rahman, secretary of Pabna district BNP, said filing of "false" cases is a huge obstacle for grassroots activists to campaign in their areas. "We are trying to secure bail for our party men so that they can join the campaigns."

Al Masud Hasanuzzaman, a professor of government and politics at Jahangirnagar University, said expectations of political leaders in Bangladesh always remain very high. So everyone wants the nomination.

There is a tendency that if a leader is denied party ticket, he or she works against or refrains from working for the nominee, he said.

"Therefore, the main challenge for the Awami League would be to keep the grassroots united and ensure their presence during the campaigns since many of its leaders filed nomination papers as rebel candidates."

For the BNP, how well it will work on the ground is the main challenge as the party leaders and activists are not actually there yet, he added. 

Nizamuddin Ahmed, a professor of public administration at Chittagong University, said the AL is in a better position as its president can remain directly involved in election-related affairs.

But with BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia now in jail, how well the party high-ups deal with the grassroots will be a major thing to look at, he added.

Amid allegations of anomalies, the Election Commission had agreed to stop the voting of Barishal City Corporation (BCC) polls several hours after it began on July 30.

However, the EC did not suspend the polling as it was doubtful whether law enforcement agencies would be able to handle the consequences. It was also worried about the security of the polls officials.

Election Commissioner Mahbub Talukdar made the disclosure while reading out a written speech at a closed-door meeting with senior police officials at the capital's Nirbachan Bhaban yesterday, said meeting sources. The meeting was organised to discuss security during the upcoming national election.

Mahbub, who was supervising the polls in Barishal, said the election was the worst among the five city corporation polls held earlier this year, according to the sources.

The voting started well at 8:00am but the situation began deteriorating as the day progressed. Different allegations of polls irregularities surfaced. 

"By 11:00am, it appeared to me that the voting cannot go on this way. I informed the honourable CEC [chief election commissioner] and other honourable commissioners that it needs to stop completely,” one of the meeting participants quoted the commissioner as saying.

"At one stage, all commissioners agreed to stop the election. But we refrained from doing that….” the participant quoted him.  

In his speech, Mahbub also said five out of the six candidates withdrew from the election. The lone candidate was elected in an almost uncontested manner.

Candidates of the BNP and four other parties boycotted the polls, raising allegations of anomalies. The ruling Awami League candidate became the mayor.

The polls to Khulna, Gazipur, Barishal, Rajshahi and Sylhet city corporations were held between May and July. BNP candidates won only in Sylhet while the AL candidates came out victorious in the rest.

Mahbub also talked about the probe committee formed to investigate the alleged anomalies.

At one point, he cited a part of the returning officer's testimony before the committee, sources said.

"In some cases, the candidates belonging to the opposition camp were harassed unnecessarily. On the other hand, police were seen playing an inactive role when ruling party candidates violated the electoral code of conduct,” another meeting participant quoted Mahbub as saying.

"Besides, there were allegations of police interference in electioneering of opposition candidates.”

Mahbub also cited a few other paragraphs of the 71-page probe report, which had an attachment of 5,000 pages, on the alleged anomalies of the BCC polls.

"The law and order was not largely normal during the Barishal City Corporation polls and the acting police commissioner was not sincere in this regard.

"Despite the Election Commission's instruction, the police authorities did not appoint any policeman for the security of the commission's observers and assistant returning officers. The law and order situation was volatile in electoral areas and polling stations in many cases. The members of law enforcement agencies did not follow instructions of returning officers and assistant returning officers. In some cases, there was a huge presence of outsiders in and outside the polling centres," the source quoted him as saying.

The election commissioner also questioned the role of police in the Gazipur City Corporation held on June 26.

Three leaders of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement yesterday withdrew the two writ petitions they had filed against the Awami League and 10 other political parties, and the past three general elections.

Their lawyer Ahsanul Karim withdrew the petitions, which were filed on Monday, from the High Court.

He told the HC bench of Justice Fatema Najib and Justice Sikder Mahmudur that his clients would not proceed with the petitions.

The bench then rejected the petitions as "not pressed", meaning they were not presented properly.

The lawyer, however, did not disclose the reasons behind the withdrawal.

"My clients have instructed me not to proceed with the petitions before the court. I don't know the reason behind the decision," he told The Daily Star yesterday.

On Monday, Abul Hasnat aka Hasnat Abdullah, convener of the movement; Sarjis Alam, one of its key coordinators who is now the general secretary of the July Martyrs Memorial Foundation; and Hasibul Islam, an assistant coordinator, submitted two separate writ petitions through their lawyers.

One sought rules to ban all political activities of AL and 10 other parties, and to debar them from all future elections.

It also sought a rule to declare the parties "terrorist organisations for the indiscriminate killings of citizens, destroying democratic institutions, and unconstitutionally taking state power".

The other petition sought a rule to cancel the results of the three national elections held in 2014, 2018 and 2024 under the AL government.

These polls were held without lawful authority and had no legal acceptance, it said.

The petition also sought a rule asking why the MPs elected from these 11 parties in the three elections would not face sedition charges, along with HC directives to cancel the benefits the lawmakers received from the government, including plots and duty-free vehicles. 

This newspaper could not reach Sarjis and Hasnat for comments.

Hasibul Islam told The Daily Star, "The petitions were withdrawn but legal actions will be taken in the future after the petitions are edited.

"Political parties that sided with the Awami League during the students' movement will be prevented from political activities."

Two other top leaders of the movement, preferring anonymity, mentioned two reasons behind the withdrawal of the petitions.

They said one of the reasons was that the petitions were filed without consultation with other leaders of the movement and the other was that some of the political parties against whom the petitions were filed had actually sided with the students during the movement.

Apart from the AL, the other parties are Jatiya Party (Ershad); Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD); Bikalpadhara Bangladesh; Tarikat Federation; the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB); Liberal Democratic Party (LDP); Jatiya Party (Manju); Ganatantri Dal; Marxist–Leninist (Barua); and the Socialist Party of Bangladesh.

When naming JSD in the petition, they put down the address of the ASM Abdur Rab-led JSD office, while the "Marxist-Leninist (Barua)" had no office address and no such registered political party has this name.

The petitions also did not mention the office address of the Socialist Party of Bangladesh. Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal (BASAD) uses the "Socialist Party of Bangladesh" as their name in English.

Of the parties, LDP, CPB, BASAD and Rab-led JSD had waged movements against the AL government for long and sided with the students during the quota reform movement, and thus their inclusions in the petitions outraged many.

"Hasnat and Sarjis filed the writ petitions without final discussions with us. We held a meeting after the petitions were filed, and in the face of criticism, a decision was taken to withdraw them," one of the leaders told The Daily Star yesterday.

Last December, BNP managed to create a strong momentum with successive divisional rallies, defying obstacles from the ruling party cadres and law enforcement agencies. But it lost that momentum when it tried to hold a rally in Dhaka. Since then, the party – which has been out of office for more than 16 years – has been trying to regain that thrust. This time around, BNP held a series of programmes around Dhaka and got some traction thanks to its supporters, leading up to its grand rally of July 28. The party was also able to hold the rally at its preferred venue, in front of its Nayapaltan headquarters. Tens of thousands of BNP workers joined in, defying myriad odds and obstacles. It turned out to be a mammoth rally and, encouraged by the turnout, BNP announced sit-in programmes at five entry points of the capital the very next day, presumably to cut off Dhaka from the rest of the country for several hours between 11am and 4pm. But the sit-in failed in the face of the ruling party's strong presence on the street and the aggressive attitude of the police. And again, BNP lost its momentum.

Since then, a few questions have been circulating in political circles: why did BNP go for such a programme? What did it achieve? And what will the party do now that the national election is just a few months away?

Read more

For every rally, there is a counter-rally

After the announcement of BNP's one-point demand – resignation of the ruling government for a caretaker government to oversee elections – movement on July 12, the party took only 16 days to announce the sit-in demos. Coordination among the party fronts and associate bodies, which requires time, is imperative to make such ambitious programmes successful, but there seems to have been a lack of coordination among BNP leaders in this regard. Even some of the party's senior leaders were in the dark about these programmes till they were announced. The decision of a sit-in demo of such a scale, without much time on its hands, indicates that BNP was in a hurry.

There is no denying that the party has a strategy in place to achieve its goal of the next election being held under a nonpartisan, election-time government. But it seems that the plan may not be as well thought out as BNP supporters would like. The party's leadership felt charged up seeing the large-scale turnout in the rally, but they underestimated the government's strength and strategic abilities. This explains why BNP couldn't succeed entirely in its programme, and now seems to have backtracked from its tough stance. After the sit-in, the party announced demos in districts and cities across Bangladesh, which is a deviation from its Dhaka-centric plans. The lack of coordination and confidence in terms of holding large rallies and showdown-like programmes can demoralise grassroots BNP supporters, who are paying a high price for the erroneous judgement calls of the party's top brass.

Read more

Can BNP really put up a good fight?

For the longest time, BNP has argued that the government and law enforcement agencies are obstructing their peaceful rallies, and the events which unfolded on July 29 has once again lent credence to their clams. The attack by ruling party men, in the presence of the law enforcement agencies, has laid bare just how "democratic" the government will be in the lead up to the elections. Of course, some BNP men did engage in violent activities during the sit-ins, but the previous programmes of BNP were largely peaceful, despite instigations. Either way, BNP knows that any violence from its own party will eventually work against itself. And this time, the party is being careful as it was accused of conducting arson attacks in 2013 and trying to sabotage the January 5, 2014 election.

Back in 2013, the party did not come up with alternative strategies when they saw that the blockades were not working. At least this time around, they have backtracked from their plans and proposed an alternative when they realised that the sit-in had failed. This could be interpreted as the party being more mature and wiser in its current decisions.

Read more

What is the point of attacking BNP rallies?

BNP's real loss in all this was giving the upper hand to the ruling party. There was no doubt that the ruling party felt pressure, especially after the composed and largely organised grand rally. But the following day, when ruling party cadres were able to easily disperse the BNP demonstrators, it worked like a morale-boosting tonic for the former. They felt more confident about being on the streets and not giving anything away to the BNP. This was essential for the Awami League at a time when it seemed to be under pressure from different directions to hold a free and fair election. Now it remains to be seen whether BNP can once again revive their momentum and give the ruling party a run for their money.

Mohammad Al-Masum Molla is chief reporter at The Daily Star.