A total of 57 candidates who contested the 13th Jatiya Sangsad election across Feni, Gopalganj and Madaripur constituencies forfeited their deposits.
FENI: In the election, 26 candidates contested in the three constituencies of the district. With the exception of six candidates from the 11-Party Alliance led by BNP and Jamaat, the remaining 20 candidates have had their deposits forfeited.
According to regulations, they lost their deposits for failing to secure one-eighth of the total valid votes cast.
An analysis of the unofficial results declared for the election reveals the following breakdown:
In the Feni-1 constituency (comprising Parashuram, Fulgazi, and Chhagalnaiya), there were a total of 385,651 voters. Of these, 217,547 exercised their franchise. To recover their deposit, a candidate needed to secure at least 17,403 votes.
According to the declared results for Feni-1, BNP candidate Munshi Rafiqul Alam Majnu received 119,904 votes, Jamaat-e-Islami candidate Advocate SM Kamal Uddin (Scale symbol) received 92,000 votes, Kazi Golam Kibria of Islami Andolan Bangladesh- IAB (Hand Fan) got 5,323, Motahar Hossain Chowdhury of Jatiya Party- JaPa (Plough) got 940, Anwar Ullah Bhuiyan of Bangladesh Khelafat Andolan (Banyan Tree) got 310, Firoz Uddin Chowdhury of Bangladesh Congress (Coconut) got 215, and Mahbub Morshed Majumdar of Bangladesh Muslim League (Hurricane Lamp) got 188 votes.
As a result, apart from BNP's Munshi Rafiqul Alam Majnu and Jamaat's Advocate SM Kamal Uddin, the remaining five candidates had their deposits forfeited.
In the Feni-2 (Sadar) constituency, there were a total of 437,078 voters. A total of 229,203 voters cast their ballots. To get their deposit back, a candidate needed at least 18,336 votes.
According to the declared results for Feni-2, BNP candidate Zainal Abedin received 131,210 votes, Mohammad Mojibur Rahman Bhuiyan Manju of AB Party (Eagle symbol), which is part of the 11-Party Alliance led by Jamaat-e-Islami, received 80,058 votes, Mohammad Ekramul Haque Bhuiyan of IAB (Hand Fan) received 6,849, Harunur Rashid Bhuiyan of Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis (Rickshaw) received 820, Saiful Karim Majumdar of Amjanata Party (Butterfly) received 801, Independent candidate Md Ismail (Horse) received 703, Md Tarekul Islam Bhuiyan of Ganadhikar Parishad (Truck) received 409, Jasim Uddin of BSD (Marxist) (Scissors) received 322, Mohammad Abul Hossain of Bangladesh Khelafat Andolan (Banyan Tree) received 304, Shamsuddin Majumdar of JSD (Star) received 240, and Tahirul Islam of Insaniyat Biplab (Apple) received 239 votes.
Consequently, except for BNP's Zainal Abedin and AB Party Chairman Mohammad Mojibur Rahman Bhuiyan Manju, the other nine candidates forfeited their deposits.
In the Feni-3 constituency, there were a total of 508,194 voters. A total of 282,900 voters cast their ballots. To recover a deposit, a candidate required at least 22,632 votes.
The declared results show BNP candidate Abdul Awal Mintu received 157,425 votes, Jamaat's Mohammad Fakhruddin Manik (Scale symbol) received 108,160 votes, Md Saif Uddin of IAB (Hand Fan) received 6,701, Md Abu Sufian of Jatiya Party (Plough) received 1,427, Abdul Malek of BSD (Ladder) received 731, Md Abu Naser of Islami Front (Chair) received 531, Hasan Ahmed of Insaniyat Biplab (Apple) received 327, and Advocate Mohammad Khaleduzzaman Patwari of Khelafat Andolan (Banyan Tree) received 320 votes.
Thus, besides BNP's Abdul Awal Mintu and Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami's Mohammad Fakhruddin, the remaining six candidates had their deposits forfeited.
Feni District Returning Officer and Deputy Commissioner Monira Haque stated that there are a total of 1,330,921 voters in Feni District. A total of 26 candidates, representing various political parties and including independents, contested the three seats in the election. Voters exercised their franchise through 428 polling centres. The voter turnout was 56.41 per cent in Feni-1, 49.02 per cent in Feni-2, and 54.47 per cent in Feni-3.
GOPALGANJ: A total of 30 candidates contested the parliamentary election across the three constituencies in the district.
Of these, 20 have lost their deposits. According to the Election Commission's regulations, a candidate must secure one-eighth of the votes cast to retain their deposit, a threshold which these 20 candidates failed to meet.
However, in one of the three seats, a Jamaat candidate retained their deposit. In the other two constituencies, two candidates from Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis, which was supported by Jamaat and the NCP, and one candidate from Gono Odhikar Parishad (GOP) also managed to save their deposits. Additionally, a rebel BNP candidate and an independent candidate succeeded in retaining their deposits.
According to the official result sheets for the three constituencies, signed by Returning Officer and Deputy Commissioner Md Arif-uz-Zaman, six candidates lost their deposits in Gopalganj-1, nine in Gopalganj-2, and five in Gopalganj-3.
In the Gopalganj-1 constituency (Maksudpur and part of Kashiani), the candidates who forfeited their deposits are Mohammad Mizanur Rahman of Islami Andolan Bangladesh (IAB), Sultan Zaman Khan of Jatiya Party (JaPa), Nirad Baran Majumder of CPB, and independent candidates Ashraful Alam Shimul, M Anisul Islam, and Kayum Ali Khan.
In the Gopalganj-2 constituency (Gopalganj Sadar and part of Kashiani), the candidates who lost their deposits are Taslim Sikder of IAB, Mahmud Hasan of Zaker Party, Riaz Sarwar Molla of JaPa, Din Mohammad of GOP, Shah Mofiz of Ganoforum, rebel BNP candidate M Sirajul Islam Siraj, and Independent candidates Utpal Biswas, Rani Molla, and Shipon Bhuiyan.
In the Gopalganj-3 constituency (Tungipara and Kotalipara), the candidates who forfeited their deposits are Abul Basar of GOP, Dulal Chandra Biswas of Ganoforum, Md Maruf Sheikh of IAB, Sheikh Salahuddin of APP, and Independent candidate Md Habibur Rahman Habib.
MADARIPUR: A total of 25 candidates contested the election across the three constituencies in the district.
Of these, 17 have had their deposits forfeited for failing to secure the required number of votes. Although the winning candidates emerged with narrow margins in all three seats, most of their rivals failed to make a significant impact at the polls.
In the Madaripur-1 constituency, there were 324,289 registered voters. A total of 182,710 votes were cast across 102 centres and through postal ballots, representing a turnout of 56.34 per cent. The number of invalid votes stood at 3,719. Among the 10 candidates, Said Uddin Ahmed Hanzala of Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis (Rickshaw symbol) won the seat with 64,909 votes. BNP's Paddy Sheaf candidate Nadira Akhter finished second with 64,528 votes, while Independent candidate Kamal Zaman Molla (Ship symbol) came third with 36,564 votes. The remaining seven candidates lost their deposits.
In Madaripur-2, the electorate numbered 436,232. A total of 192,164 votes were cast in 145 centres, giving a turnout of 44.05 per cent, with 6,494 votes ruled invalid. From a field of 10 candidates, Jahandar Ali Mia of BNP (Paddy Sheaf) emerged victorious with 61,744 votes. Independent candidate Milton Vaidya secured 46,476 votes to take second place, followed by Abdus Sobahan of Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis (Rickshaw) with 36,169 votes. The other seven contestants forfeited their deposits.
Madaripur-3 has 387,806 voters, with 201,237 ballots cast across 134 centres, a turnout of 51.89 per cent. Invalid votes totalled 4,475. Among the five candidates, Anisur Rahman Khokon Talukder of BNP (Paddy Sheaf) won the seat with 96,188 votes. Md Rafiqul Islam of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami (Scale symbol) came second with 84,646 votes. The remaining three candidates failed to secure enough votes, resulting in the forfeiture of their deposits.
An analysis of the results across the three constituencies reveals that despite competitive races, a large number of candidates could not attain the minimum vote threshold. Consequently, the loss of deposits was widespread in most areas.
Madaripur District Election Officer Farid Ahmed confirmed that 25 candidates took part in the election across the three seats.
According to him, any candidate who fails to receive at least one-eighth of the total votes cast will have their deposit forfeited. In such cases, the Tk 50,000 deposit is not returned.
