Jamaat-e-Islami has requested the Election Commission (EC) not to include its electoral symbol “Daripalla” (Scales) on the ballot paper for the Narsingdi-2 constituency in the upcoming 13th national parliamentary election.
The party said it has left the seat to National Citizen Party (NCP) candidate Md Golam Sarwar, also known as Sarwar Tushar, as part of its electoral alliance with the NCP.
In a letter sent on Wednesday to Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin, Jamaat Secretary General Mia Golam Parwar made the request, citing the need to avoid voter confusion and to uphold political consensus.
According to the letter, Jamaat had initially nominated its own candidate for Narsingdi-2 ahead of the 12 February election. However, under the seat-sharing agreement of the 10-party (now 11-party) electoral alliance, the constituency was later allotted to the NCP candidate.
By that time, the deadline for withdrawal of nominations had already expired, preventing the Jamaat-nominated candidate from formally withdrawing. As a result, there is a possibility that the “Daripalla” symbol could appear on the ballot paper for the constituency.
To prevent confusion among voters and to ensure the implementation of the alliance agreement, Jamaat requested that its symbol not be included on the Narsingdi-2 ballot paper. The party urged the Election Commission to consider the matter and take necessary steps.
Commenting on the issue, Sarwar Tushar, the NCP nominee of the 11-party alliance, said Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami is an ideological party that remains fully committed to the alliance.
“Due to unavoidable circumstances, the Jamaat candidate in Narsingdi-2 could not withdraw his nomination in time and therefore received the symbol,” he said.
“However, to ensure that voters are not confused and that all alliance votes go into one ballot box, Jamaat’s central leadership has written to the Election Commission requesting that only one symbol ‘Shapla Koli’ be kept.
This will remove confusion and further strengthen unity and cohesion within the alliance,” Sarwar Tushar added.
