New Delhi: On one hand, incidents of violence against minorities are continuously coming to light in Bangladesh, while on the other hand, the issue of exclusion of a prominent Hindu face from the election field has become a subject of political debate. Bangladesh Election Commission has canceled the nomination of Jatiya Hindu Mahajot’s general secretary and senior lawyer Gobind Chandra Pramanik.
Gobind Chandra Pramanik had filed nomination papers as an independent candidate from Gopalganj-3 parliamentary seat for the upcoming general elections on 28 December. This is the same seat from where former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has also contested elections and which is considered her traditional seat. Pramanik was being seen as a strong face by the Hindu community in the general elections to be held on 12 February.
However, the Election Commission rejected his nomination. According to the rules of the Election Commission, any independent candidate has to submit the signatures of 1 percent of the total number of voters of his parliamentary constituency along with his nomination. Pramanik says that he had submitted all these signatures on time, but at the last moment the Returning Officer declared these signatures invalid.
Gobind Chandra Pramanik alleged that the people who had signed at the behest of BNP turned back, after which the Election Commission canceled his nomination. He said that he will file an appeal against this decision of the Election Commission and will also approach the court if necessary.
On this issue, senior Bangladeshi journalist Salahuddin Shoaib Chaudhary claimed that the country’s institutions are busy helping BNP win the elections. According to him, the Election Commission is trying to ensure that no independent, caste party or Jamaat-e-Islami candidate can win, so that the BNP candidates do not face any challenge.
Pramanik has been a prominent face of Hindu organizations for a long time, although he had also come into controversy for his support to Dr Yunus, who headed the interim government after the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government. In Bangladesh, minority voters play a decisive role in many seats and in such a situation, the cancellation of nomination of a prominent Hindu candidate raises serious questions on electoral fairness.
