Addressing an election rally at the Mymensingh Circuit House ground, Tarique said BNP was being branded as a “champion of corruption” using rhetoric similar to that employed by a former autocratic regime. He noted that Jamaat had two cabinet members in the BNP-led government and challenged the party to explain their continued participation if corruption was rampant.
Meanwhile, BNP Standing Committee member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury said Bangladeshis would reject any politics dependent on foreign powers. Speaking to journalists during a door-to-door campaign in Chattogram’s Port-Patenga area, he dismissed claims by a Jamaat leader that the United States wanted Jamaat in power, saying such politics had no future in a country that values independence.
In response, Jamaat-e-Islami ameer Shafiqur Rahman said dynastic politics would end if Jamaat came to power. Addressing a rally in Jashore, he promised a new political culture focused on the interests of the country’s people rather than political families.
Campaign tensions were highlighted by an alleged attack on National Citizen Party (NCP) chief coordinator and Dhaka-8 candidate Nasir Uddin Patowary on Tuesday. The NCP claimed BNP student wing activists threw eggs, water and brick chips at Patowary during electioneering in Dhaka. BNP supporters were accused of chanting party slogans during the incident. The NCP said it followed a similar attack on Patowary on January 23.
Separately, Election Commissioner Md Anwarul Islam Sarkar said officials assigned election duties are barred from campaigning for or against the referendum being held alongside the parliamentary polls, though they may encourage voter participation. Speaking at the Election Bhaban in Dhaka, he said election offences and penalties would be governed by the Representation of the People Order, but declined to comment on allegations of state-backed campaigning for a ‘Yes’ vote.
