BNP withdraws Khaleda’s nomination, names Jahangir candidate for Dinajpur-3

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has formally withdrawn the nomination of its former chairperson and ex-prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia for the Dinajpur-3 parliamentary constituency following her death, replacing her with Syed Jahangir Alam.

The update was announced by Returning Officer Md Rafiqul Islam during the second day of nomination scrutiny at the Deputy Commissioner’s office in Dinajpur on Saturday, January 3. 

Before concluding the legal process related to Khaleda Zia’s nomination, Rafiqul paid tribute to her decades-long political career and service to the nation.

Election officials cleared Jahangir Alam’s nomination after verifying that his affidavit and supporting documents met all legal requirements.

In total, eight candidates have been approved to contest the Dinajpur-3 seat. 

They include nominees from Jamaat-e-Islami Md Mainul Alam, from Jatiya Party Ahmed Shafi Rubel, Rezaul Karim of Bangladesh Khilafat Majlis, Md Rabiul Islam of Janata Party, Md Khairuzzamanof Islami Andolan Bangladesh, Kibria Hossain of Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal (BSD) and Laila Tul Reema of Bangladesh Muslim League.

Meanwhile, the nomination of Amrit Kumar Roy of the Communist Party of Bangladesh was rejected due to the absence of a valid authorisation letter from the party’s central committee, a mandatory requirement under election law.

Officials from the district administration and law enforcement agencies, along with representatives of the candidates, were present during the scrutiny process.

Emdadul Haque Tuhin/MHK/NMA