Photo : Messenger
Awami League leaders who could not become members of parliament after being deprived of the party's nomination in the last parliamentary elections are now in despair. The list also includes many heavyweight leaders of the party. Even though these leaders who have been part of the party for a long time are in despair, most of them have faith and trust in the party. However, many of them harbor pent-up anger. There are also cases where many people are angry with the party high command because they did not get a place in the cabinet despite being elected.
However, these deprived leaders do not want to speak openly for fear of losing their titles. It is clear in their organisational activities that they are not happy with the party's decision. And many are waiting for the next assessment.
In the last 12th parliamentary elections, the ruling Awami League changed candidates in many places among the 300 seats of the parliament. In that case, at least 72 members of Parliament were deprived of nomination. The party also nominated family members of some of the shifted constituencies, excluding them due to illness and old age. Three state ministers of the previous government were also in the list of non-nominations. They are Minister of State for Culture KM Khalid, Minister of State for Labor Munnujan Sufian, and Minister of State for Primary and Mass Education Zakir Hossain. However, Munnujan Sufian was later appointed a member of the reserved women's seat.
Besides, former Information Minister Abul Kalam Azad, former Home Minister Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir, former LGRD Minister Khandkar Mosharraf Hossain, and former State Information Minister Murad Hasan did not get nomination.
Many leaders like Awami League presidium member Pijush Kanti Bhattacharya, Mustafa Jalal Mohiuddin did not get nomination. The party's organizing secretary BM Mozammel Haque, SM Afzal Hossain, Sujit Roy Nandi, forest and environment affairs secretary Delwar Hossain, relief and social welfare secretary Aminul Islam, party office secretary Barrister Bilpab Barua were also deprived of nomination. None of them got a chance to become a member of parliament due to not getting nomination. Also discussed among those who did not get nomination was Habibe Millat in Sirajganj-2 constituency, Nasir Uddin in Jashore-2 Constituency, Ranjit Kumar Roy in Jashore-4 Constituency, Md Saifuzzaman Shikhar in Magura-1 Constituency, Panchanan Biswas in Khulna-1 Constituency, Munnujan Sufian, Minister of State for Labor and Employment in Khulna-3 Constituency, Mir Moshtak Ahmed Ravi in Satkhira-2 Constituency, Former IGP Noor Mohammad in Kishoreganj-2 seat, Naimur Rahman Durjoy, former captain of the national cricket team in Manikganj-1 seat, AKM Rahmat Ullah in Dhaka-11 seat.
Among them, the most discussion was about Satkhira-2 seat. Asaduzzaman Babu was nominated there first. Later there, Japa's candidate Ashrafuzzaman Ashu was nominated as the candidate of the alliance. Babu withdrew the nomination on the last day by the decision of the party's high command. The video of his crying while collecting the nomination papers went viral. Apart from this, cricketer Shakib Al Hasan was nominated instead of Saifuzzaman Shikhar in Magura-1 seat. The issue of non-nomination of Chhatra League leader Saifuzzaman Shikhar was widely discussed in the political arena at that time.
Once more, many heavyweight leaders of the party have faced challenges to some extent after securing nominations from the party and becoming members of parliament. Among such leaders are the party's joint general secretary Mahbub ul Alam Hanif and AFM Bahauddin Nasim. His supporters had hoped that after becoming an MP, the party would elevate him to a ministerial position. However, in reality, the hopes of the activists were not fulfilled.
Satkhira District Awami League Joint General Secretary Asaduzzaman Babu discussed this matter. He informed The Daily Messenger that his name was on the nomination list before the last election. But eventually, Japa's candidate Ashrafuzzaman Ashu was nominated due to high interest, and he had to withdraw his nomination papers on the last day. He claims that he sacrificed himself for the party's needs.
He stated, "I have been involved in politics since my student days. I always abide by the team's decision. I didn't make an exception this time. Now, I am waiting to see how the team evaluates the situation."
When Member of Parliament Advocate Md. Shahjahan Mia from Patuakhali-1 Constituency passed away on October 21, 2023, Awami League's organizing secretary Advocate Afzal Hossain was nominated by the party to fill the position. However, shortly after that, he was not nominated again in the 12th National Parliament election.
The Daily Messenger interviewed Afzal Hossain regarding this matter. He stated, "I don't question anything beyond the decision of the party. I hold the position of organizing secretary in such a major political party because Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina appointed me. So, why would there be any issue if I was not made an MP? I have no bad feeling."
The organizing secretary of the party is BM Mozammel Haque. He is a former two-time Member of Parliament from Shariatpur-1 Constituency. This time, however, he did not receive the nomination. He stated, "Since I am a member of the party, I adhere to the party's decision. Party makes decisions after careful consideration."
Messenger/Fameema
