Thakurgaon Correspondent: Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Assistant Secretary General Maulana Abdul Halim has said voters in the Thakurgaon-1 constituency will express their anger against the government in the October 29 by-election by voting for the party’s ‘scales’ symbol.
He alleged that the government had taken several measures against public interests, including disregarding the public verdict in the referendum, and said voters would deliver a fitting response through the ballot box.
“An overwhelming wave of public support has already emerged in favour of scales candidate Md Delwar Hossain, a former president of Islami Chhatra Shibir and a leader who has faced political persecution,” he said.
Abdul Halim made the remarks while addressing a series of meetings and gatherings with election officials and party representatives across 10 unions in Thakurgaon on Thursday, October 22. His day-long programme covered Jagannathpur, Begunbari, Nargun, Mohammadpur, Jamalpur, Raipur, Chilarang, Rahimanpur, Akcha and Salandar unions.
Emphasising the importance of a free and fair election, the Jamaat leader said party activists would work with people from all walks of life to prevent irregularities and vote rigging at polling centres.
“The people of Thakurgaon-1 will not tolerate any form of electoral manipulation, engineering or vote theft,” he said, pledging to play an active role in safeguarding voters’ rights.
Abdul Halim also criticised the BNP-led government’s appointments in various sectors, alleging that the party had prioritised its own interests over those of the country despite using the slogan ‘Bangladesh First’.
He alleged that party loyalists were being appointed to positions across different sectors, defeated party leaders had been made administrators, and vice-chancellors were being appointed to universities on partisan grounds.
Calling on voters to uphold the aspirations that emerged from the July movement, the Jamaat leader urged them to elect Delwar Hossain to parliament by voting for the scales symbol.
He described the candidate as a leader committed to fulfilling the people`s expectations and urged voters from all walks of life to support him in the upcoming by-election.
Several senior Jamaat-e-Islami leaders attended the meetings as special guests, including Faqih Maulana Abdul Hakim, a member of the Rangpur-Dinajpur regional team; Dinajpur district Jamaat Ameer Principal Anisur Rahman; Thakurgaon district Jamaat Ameer Professor Belal Uddin Pradhan; Dinajpur district secretary Muhaddis Dr Enamul Haque; district working committee member Maulana Fazle Rabbi Mortazabi; and Baliadangi upazila Jamaat Ameer Maulana Rafiqul Islam.
The October 29 by-election in Thakurgaon-1 is expected to draw attention as political parties seek to mobilise voters around their respective candidates and agendas. Jamaat leaders expressed confidence that their candidate would receive strong public support, while Abdul Halim called on voters to turn that support into votes on election day.