Staff Correspondent, Narayanganj

Fresh disputes have erupted within the BNP over the preliminary nomination in Narayanganj–3 (Sonargaon–Siddhirganj) constituency. Seven nomination aspirants have appealed to the party’s Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman to change the nomination. In a letter sent through the party’s Secretary General on Wednesday , they stated that nominating Mannan has created a negative reaction at the grassroots.

The joint appeal was signed by former state minister Professor Rezaul Karim, former MP Muhammad Gias Uddin, district BNP convener Prof  Mamun Mahmud, former director Waliur Rahman Appel, former Sonargaon BNP president Abu Zafar, former central leader of the Swechchhasebak Dal Wahid Bin Imtiaz Bokul, and Al Mujahid Mallik. Earlier, on 18 November, they held a meeting at a house in Dhaka. After the meeting, they decided to demand a change in the preliminary nomination.

The letter levels several allegations against Mannan. The allegations include that after 5 August he was involved in extortion, land grabbing, terrorist activities on waterways, case manipulation, and illegal sand trading. It also mentions that he installed several local Awami League and Jatiya Party representatives as union parishad chairmen “in exchange for money. The letter further states that he has made vulgar remarks about senior leaders and behaves poorly with ordinary people. The applicants also claim that after allegations surfaced against him, he himself stated that the party’s image had been damaged. They added that Mannan’s lack of educational qualifications could also negatively affect the party’s image.

According to the seven applicants, BNP’s chances of winning will decline if Mannan is nominated. Since Jamaat-e-Islami’s nominated candidate Dr. Muhammad Iqbal Hossain Bhuiyan is an educated and clean candidate, the BNP needs a qualified and acceptable candidate to counter him. All seven have stated that if any one of them is nominated, the others will work together in his favor.

However, Azharul Islam Mannan does not want to give importance to these allegations. He said, Anyone who works makes mistakes. If I were weak, they wouldn’t have needed to unite.” He described the initiative for changing the nomination as “normal politics.

This new dispute over the nomination has sparked fresh discussions in Sonargaon–Siddhirganj politics. Leaders and activists are now waiting to see what decision the central leadership takes.