Nomination papers have been collected in Comilla on behalf of former interim government adviser Asif Mahmud Sajib Bhuiyan, despite his earlier announcement that he would contest the upcoming national election from the Dhaka-10 constituency.
An individual collected an independent nomination form in Asif Mahmud’s name from the Comilla-3 (Muradnagar) constituency on Wednesday. The form was obtained from the office of the Comilla Deputy Commissioner and Returning Officer, although the matter became public on Friday.
Comilla Deputy Commissioner Md Reza Hasan confirmed the development to Dhaka Triubne on Saturday.
“On Wednesday, a person named Ramjanul Karim collected an independent nomination form on behalf of former adviser Asif Mahmud. As Asif himself was not present at the time, the issue did not draw much attention. So far, 104 people have collected nomination forms across the district’s 11 constituencies,” he said.
Asif Mahmud is a native of Muradnagar upazila. During his tenure as an adviser, there had been speculation that he would contest from the Comilla-3 seat. He later announced that he would run from Dhaka-10.
According to local inquiries, Ramjanul Karim, who collected the nomination form, is from Palpara village in Comilla Adarsha Sadar upazila and works as a lawyer’s assistant at the Comilla District Judge’s Court.
Ramjanul Karim said he had no personal relationship with Asif Mahmud.
“On Wednesday, some people claiming to represent him asked me to collect the nomination form from the DC’s office, providing the address and bank draft money. I collected the form and handed it over to them. I do not know whether he will ultimately contest from this constituency,” he said.
Asif Mahmud’s cousin and Muradnagar upazila convener of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, Ubaidul Siddiqui, said no decision had been made regarding contesting from Muradnagar.
“I heard about the matter last night. However, no decision has been taken on whether Asif Mahmud will collect nomination papers from Muradnagar. Asif himself did not inform us about collecting nomination papers, and we do not know how this nomination was obtained,” he said.
The schedule for the 13th National Parliamentary Election was announced on December 11. A day earlier, Asif Mahmud Sajib Bhuiyan and Mahfuj Alam resigned from their posts, fueling speculation over their political future.
On December 12, Asif Mahmud announced in a post on his verified Facebook page that he would contest the election from Dhaka-10 as an independent candidate. He later personally visited the local election office to collect nomination papers to run from the Dhaka-10 constituency.
