Faridpur-3: AK Azad braves all odds, comes out victorious
AK Azad, an Awami League leader who ran as an independent, had to fight against all odds to win yesterday's parliamentary polls from Faridpur-3.
Supporters of his main rival Shamim Haque, the AL nominee, obstructed many voters from going to the polling centers. They also assaulted some voters at several places. A chase and counter chase between supporters of the two candidates also took place.
Since the beginning of the campaign, Shamim's supporters intimidated the supporters of Azad. Even a day before the voting, Azad's chief election agent Shamsul Haque was attacked.
Azad bagged 1,34,098 votes against Shamim's 75,089.
Azad yesterday said people voted for him to protest the use of muscle power.
Visiting 13 polling centres in Faridpur-3 yesterday, The Daily Star found polling agents of both the candidates were present in all the centres.
However, at the Gerda Government Primary School polling centre, Azad's polling agent Halima Begum said a group of 10-12 supporters of the AL nominee entered the polling station around 1:30pm and started stuffing ballots.
"After I started shouting, law enforcers came in and drove them out," she said.
Admitting the incident, Presiding Officer Mizanur Rahman said those ballots would be excluded.
Around 10:30am, casting of ballots was suspended for about one and a half hours at the Ranokal Government Primary School polling centre in Kanaipur following clashes between the supporters of the two candidates.
Awlad Hossain Babor, president of Faridpur Nagorik Mancha, said the election in Faridpur was largely peaceful.
"No vote-rigging took place. However, some untoward incidents happened. Had the opposition parties joined the polls, it would have been a more participatory election."
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