Amjad Hossain, the Jamaat-e-Islami leader who was initially nominated for the Narsingdi-2 constituency, has officially declared his support for Sarwar Tushar, the candidate representing the National Citizen Party (NCP) and the 11-party alliance.
On Friday, Hossain participated in an election procession to campaign for Tushar’s “Shapla Koli” (water lily bud) symbol.
The rally commenced at the upazila Jamaat office and travelled through the Palash bus stand, Khanepur Bazar, and the BIDC intersection before returning to the Palash bus stand. Leaders from various levels of the 11-party alliance were also in attendance.
Seat-sharing and voter confusion
The Narsingdi-2 seat was allocated to the NCP under a seat-sharing agreement within the 11-party alliance.
However, because the Jamaat candidate did not withdraw his nomination within the stipulated timeframe, the party’s ‘Daripalla’ (scales) symbol remained active, leading to confusion among local voters.
Residents now believe that Hossain’s public endorsement of Tushar has resolved this ambiguity.
Prior to this public endorsement, Jamaat-e-Islami had formally requested the Election Commission (EC) to exclude the ‘Daripalla’ symbol from the ballot papers for the Narsingdi-2 constituency.
In a letter dated 23 January addressed to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin, Jamaat Secretary General Mia Golam Parwar clarified that the party had initially nominated its own candidate for the general election scheduled for 12 February.
However, following a 10-party electoral alliance consensus, the seat was conceded to NCP’s Sarwar Tushar.
The letter emphasised that since the Jamaat candidate had failed to withdraw in time, there was a risk of the ‘Daripalla’ symbol appearing on the ballot. The party urged the EC to remove the symbol to honour the political agreement and prevent misleading the electorate.
