CUMILLA, Jan 22: In Cumilla-4 (Debidwar) constituency, the strong opponent of BNP's candidate Engineer Manjurul Ahsan Munshi is Hasnat Abdullah, a student leader during July Movement and Chief Southern Organizer of the National Citizen Party (NCP).
Even before the electoral battle, these two candidates are now busy in a legal battle. The uncertainty over Munshi's participation in the election has increased as his candidacy was cancelled due to being a loan defaulter, and he has not been able to regain it even after approaching the High Court.
On Wednesday afternoon, the High Court dismissed the writ petition filed by BNP candidate Manjurul Ahsan Munshi to regain his candidacy. The High Court bench of Justice Rajik Al Jalil and Justice Md. Anwarul Islam issued this order. As his participation in the upcoming 13th national election is now hanging due to his status as a 'loan defaulter', Hasnat, for the time being, has no strong competitor left in the field. However, Munshi's lawyers say, 'They will continue the legal battle for Munshi to regain his candidacy.'
Local sources say that Manjurul Ahsan Munshi is the undefeated MP for four consecutive terms in this constituency. In the electoral battlefield, the 77-year-old Manju's strong opponent is the 27-year-old July warrior Hasnat Abdullah. On Wednesday morning, when symbols were being allocated to candidates at the office of the District Returning Officer, both Manju Munshi and Hasnat were at the High Court. Hasnat's party activists collected the party symbol on his behalf.
According to local political circle, if Munshi does not regain his candidacy in the final legal battle, Hasnat, the candidate of the Jamaat alliance, will have no strong opponent left in the electoral field. Voters say that if Munshi is not in the race, Hasnat is set to win almost unopposed. However, if Munshi returns to the field through the legal battle, there will be a fierce electoral contest between the two.
Even if Munshi is not in the race, Hasnat will face four other candidates in the field. They are: Irfanul Haque Sarker (Apple) of Insaniyat Biplob Bangladesh, Mohammad Majibur Rahman (Wall Clock) of Khelafat Majlis, Md. Abdul Karim (Hand Fan) of Islami Andolan Bangladesh (IAB), and Md. A. Jasim Uddin (Truck) of Gono Odhikar Parishad (GOP).
Earlier, on January 3rd, the District Returning Officer had declared Manjurul Ahsan Munshi's nomination paper valid during scrutiny. However, NCP candidate Hasnat Abdullah appealed to the Election Commission against this decision of the Returning Officer. In his appeal, he alleged that the BNP candidate had concealed information about being a loan defaulter while submitting his nomination paper. Subsequently, after a hearing on this matter on January 17th at the Agargaon Election Building auditorium, the EC upheld Hasnat Abdullah's appeal. Manjurul Ahsan Munshi's nomination paper was declared invalid in the hearing. Challenging the legality of the Election Commission's decision, BNP candidate Manjurul Ahsan Munshi then filed a writ petition. However, not regaining the validity of his nomination due to being a loan defaulter in this hearing has left Munshi's fate hanging. While disappointment is visible among Munshi's followers, Jamaat alliance candidate Hasnat and his followers are in high spirit.
Speaking to journalists on the court premises on Wednesday afternoon after the High Court verdict, Hasnat Abdullah said, "Just as you cannot protect chickens by putting a fox in charge of the coop, similarly, you cannot catch bank robbers by voting for loan defaulters and bank looters and sending them to parliament." Hasnat said, "Our fight is against loan defaulters and looters. Manju Munshi took loans from banks and did not repay these. He also concealed information in his affidavit. Therefore, the court has cancelled his nomination papers for being a loan defaulter. He has no opportunity to participate in the election. The court has rejected his petition."
Despite repeated attempts to contact him by mobile phone for comment on this matter, Manju Munshi did not answer the calls. However, Munshi's personal lawyer, Muhammad Saifullah Mamun, said, "The legal process for regaining the nomination is not fully over yet. Everything is not final. We have appealed to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on this matter. We hope that in the hearing next Monday, Munshi will get back the validity of his nomination papers from the higher court."
