Constituency demarcation: Hartal withdrawn, sit-in to continue at EC offices in Bagerhat
The decision was taken out of respect for the Durga Puja festivities
The All-Party Joint Committee has called off its planned hartal for Tuesday and Wednesday, which was in protest of the Election Commission's decision to reduce the district's parliamentary seats from four to three ahead of the 13th national elections.
Instead, a half-day sit-in has been planned in front of the election offices across the district and all upazilas on both days.
The announcement was made by MA Salam, co-convener of the All-Party Joint Committee and former president of the district BNP, in front of the DC office at 3:30pm today (15 September).
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Bagerhat protest over constituency cuts: Sit-ins continue, 3-day highway hartal announced
MA Salam said the decision was taken out of respect for the Durga Puja festivities and to ensure that celebrants could enjoy their shopping and celebrations without disruption.
Bagerhat is witnessing unrest following the Election Commission's decision to reduce the district's four parliamentary seats to three.
The district had long been represented by four constituencies. But on 30 July, ahead of the upcoming 13th national parliamentary election, the Election Commission proposed reducing the number to three. Despite protests and hearings, the commission issued a final gazette on 4 September confirming the cut.
The new arrangement merged the previous constituencies, leaving Bagerhat with three seats: Bagerhat-1 covering Bagerhat Sadar, Chitalmari, and Mollahat; Bagerhat-2 covering Fakirhat, Rampal, and Mongla; and Bagerhat-3 covering Kachua, Morelganj, and Sharankhola. Local protesters argue that the new arrangement ignores their demand to retain all four constituencies.
