BNP MP Misti resigns, seat declared vacant

Ferdousy Ahmed Misti, a BNP MP elected to a reserved seat for women, has resigned from Parliament, and her seat has been declared vacant. She resigned on instruction from Prime Minister and BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman.

The Parliament Secretariat announced her resignation and the vacancy in a notification on Thursday.
The notification said Misti resigned on October 1 and that her seat (Seat No. 23) became vacant the same day under Article 67(2) of the Constitution.

Her resignation came after she submitted her resignation letter to Jatiya Sangsad Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed on Thursday, following an instruction from Prime Minister and BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman to step down amid allegations surrounding the attack, looting and demolition of the Radda MCH-FP Centre in Mirpur.

The resignation came as authorities continued investigating allegations of political involvement in the September 24-25 attack on the health facility. Misti, however, denied any involvement in the incident.

The Radda MCH-FP Centre in Mirpur-1 was attacked around midnight on September 24. According to police and case documents, a large group entered the premises, looted equipment and other belongings, and subsequently demolished the facility using heavy machinery.

The attackers reportedly took away medicines, vaccines, furniture, computers, printers, refrigerators, air conditioners, an ultrasonography machine and a generator. The case statement put the damage at more than Tk 1 crore. A signboard bearing the name of the Samomona Dokandar Samabay Samity Ltd was later placed on the premises.

The centre, which has provided maternal and child healthcare, family planning, vaccination and other services to low-income and disadvantaged residents since 1974, was left largely destroyed. Limited services have continued from the damaged premises.
Police have arrested several people in connection with the incident. The case filed by Radda authorities names former Dhaka North City BNP member Mohammad Hanif Mia and about 250 unidentified people as accused. Hanif has denied involvement.

A separate inquiry also found evidence of police negligence in handling the situation. The officer-in-charge of Shah Ali Police Station, Jahangir Alam, was withdrawn and departmental action was initiated. Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said the investigation would determine the responsibility of those involved and that no one would be spared if evidence was found against them.

WHY DID MISTI'S NAME EMERGE?
Misti's name came under scrutiny because of her longstanding political association with the area and her past connection with the Samomona Dokandar Samabay Samity Ltd, whose signboard appeared at the Radda site after the demolition.

She served as president of the association in 2006, when she was a commissioner of Ward No. 8 under the then Shah Ali police station area. Documents cited in reports show that she signed, as the association's president, an application seeking allocation of the Radda Centre's land in the name of the organisation.

Misti has acknowledged that she was the association's president during her tenure as commissioner and that an application had been submitted for allocation of the land.

MISTI'S POLITICAL BACKGROUND
Misti is a longstanding figure in local BNP politics in Mirpur. She previously served as a joint convener of Dhaka Metropolitan North BNP and was elected to Parliament in 2026 from a reserved women's seat under the BNP's nomination.

Before entering Parliament, she served as a councillor of Dhaka City Corporation Ward No. 8. She became councillor following the death of her husband, Sayedur Rahman Newton, in 2002. She later contested the 2019 city corporation election as a BNP-backed candidate from the same ward.

Her political involvement dates back to her student years. While studying at Begum Badrunnesa Government Girls' College, she became involved with Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal and was elected assistant general secretary of the college students' union.

Misti is also the sister of late BNP leader and former lawmaker Nasir Uddin Ahmed Pintu. Her late husband Newton was also involved in BNP politics and had served as a councillor of the same ward.

BNP TAKES ORGANISATIONAL ACTION
The Radda incident has also triggered a series of organisational measures within the BNP and its affiliated organisations.
On Wednesday night, the BNP dissolved the 51-member convening committee of Dhaka Metropolitan North BNP. The Dhaka Metropolitan North Jubo Dal and Dhaka Metropolitan West Chhatra Dal committees were also dissolved. Fourteen leaders and activists at different organisational levels were expelled over allegations including indiscipline, anti-organisational activities and unethical conduct.

The official statements announcing those organisational decisions did not explicitly say that the Radda incident was the reason for the dissolutions or expulsions. However, the measures came amid mounting scrutiny over the alleged involvement of local BNP figures in the attack.