The returning officer in Kushtia has declared six out of 33 nomination papers invalid for the district’s four parliamentary constituencies.
Returning Officer Md Iqbal Hossain disclosed the information on Sunday after completing the scrutiny of nomination papers.
Of the six rejected nominations, five belonged to independent candidates and one to a party-backed candidate. As a result, 26 nominations were found valid.
In Kushtia-1 (Daulatpur), former joint secretary of the upazila BNP’s Nuruzzaman Hablu Mollah and Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal’s Gias Uddin submitted nomination papers as independent candidates. The returning officer rejected Hablu Mollah’s nomination.
In Kushtia-2 (Mirpur–Bheramara), the nomination of independent candidate Al Ahsanul Haque was also rejected.
In Kushtia-4 (Kumarkhali–Khoksa), the returning officer cancelled the nominations of three candidates — Nurul Islam Ansar Pramanik, convener of the Kumarkhali upazila BNP; Sheikh Sadi, joint convener of the district BNP; and Khairul Islam of the Bangladesh Supreme Party.
Election officials said Khairul Islam had previously served as a government employee and failed to submit proof of resignation as required under election rules. The nominations of Sheikh Sadi and Ansar Pramanik were rejected due to errors in their papers.
The returning officer said none of the cancelled nominations are candidates from any major political parties.
Among the rejected candidates, Nuruzzaman Hablu Mollah and Nurul Islam Ansar Pramanik have announced plans to file appeals against the decisions.
