Thakurgaon-1 by-election: Election symbols allocated today

Election symbols will be allocated to the candidates contesting the Thakurgaon-1 by-election on Thursday (October 8), formally launching their election campaigns.

According to the Election Commission’s schedule, Wednesday (October 7) was the deadline for withdrawing candidacies.

Five candidates from five political parties remain in the race. They are BNP’s Mirza Faisal Amin, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami’s Md Delwar Hossain, Bangladesh Khilafat Andolan’s Md Abdul Alim Nizami, Islami Andolan Bangladesh’s Hafez Dr Md Khademul Islam and Bangladesh Congress candidate Hussain Muhammad Omar Faruk.

Md Obaidullah Masud, the district BNP vice-president who had initially submitted his nomination as a BNP candidate, withdrew his candidacy following a party decision.

As a result, Mirza Faisal Amin is now BNP’s sole candidate in the by-election. The party has also written to the Election Commission requesting that he be allocated the BNP’s electoral symbol, the sheaf of paddy.

The Thakurgaon-1 by-election will be held on October 29. Voting will continue uninterrupted from 8am to 4pm.