5 including JP’s former chief whip lose security deposit

A total of five candidates including former opposition chief whip Nurul Islam Omar of Jatiya Party have lost their security deposits as they failed to get minimum votes in the by-election to Bogura-6 constituency held on June 24.

Nurul Islam is party’s joint-secretary general and general secretary of Bogura district unit.

He was made the opposition chief whip after being elected unopposed in the 10th parliamentary election. He got 7,271 votes with “Plough’, party’s election symbol in Monday’s election.

Others who have lost deposits are independent candidate Minhaz Mondal (Apple) 2,920 votes, Syed Kabir Ahmed Mithu (Truck) 630 votes, Muslim League's Mufti Rafiqul Islam (Hariken-lamp) 554 votes and Bangladesh Congress candidate Munsur Rahman (Green coconut) 456 votes.

Returning officer and senior district election officer Mahbub Alam Shah said, according to the election law, candidates needed to get at least one-eighth of the total vote, i.e. 16, 734 votes, cast in their constituencies to get their security money back.

Out of total 3,87,458 voters, 1,33,870 cast their votes in Monday’s by-election.

BNP-nominated and 20-party alliance backed-candidate, Golam Mohammad Siraj, won the election by begging 89,742 votes while his nearest rival T Zaman Niketa of Awami League polled 32,297.

Others failed to get required amount of votes to protect their deposits.