Over 5.5 lakh Ansar members to be deployed during election: Adviser
A total of 555,958 Ansar and VDP members will be deployed at 42,766 polling centres nationwide, with 13 members assigned to each centre
More than 550,000 members of the Bangladesh Ansar and Village Defence Party (VDP) will be deployed across the country to maintain law and order and ensure security at polling centres during the upcoming election, Home Affairs Adviser Lieutenant General (retd) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury has said.
Speaking this morning (12 January) as the chief guest at an event at the Safipur Ansar and VDP Academy in Kaliakair upazila of Gazipur, the adviser said a total of 555,958 Ansar and VDP members will be deployed at 42,766 polling centres nationwide, with 13 members assigned to each centre.
Of them, three will be armed members, one of whom will remain with the presiding officer at all times, while six will be unarmed male members and four unarmed female members, he said.
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In addition, 1,191 Ansar battalion teams will be deployed across the country as striking forces, with 10 members in each team, totalling 11,910 personnel, Jahangir added.
He said the force has been undertaking coordinated preparations since August last year to ensure a free, fair and peaceful election. Under the new policy, around 255,000 VDP members and more than 3,000 battalion members have already been given basic training, he added.
Calling on the force to remain free from political influence, the home adviser said, "The Bangladesh Ansar and VDP is not the force of any political party. You are government employees paid with taxpayers' money. Working to serve personal interests, greed or political agendas will weaken the foundations of the state."
He added that corruption is the biggest enemy of the state, noting that courage does not only mean standing up to danger but also saying "no" to unjust orders and performing duties with integrity while standing by the oppressed.
