AL leader in Sylhet seeks '50-50 votes for BNP-Jamaat', video goes viral

A local Awami League (AL) leader in Sylhet has stirred widespread criticism after a video of him supporting a Jamaat-e-Islami candidate went viral on social media.

In the video, the man identified as Kala Mia expressed support for a "50-50" vote share between BNP and Jamaat and suggested that the Awami League might not return to power for another 10-15 years.

Kala, former president of the Awami League's Uttar Ranikhai union unit in Companiganj upazila, made the comments during an event last Thursday (26 June) in Bekimora's Par Bazar area, where Jamaat's Sylhet district Secretary Zainal Abedin was present.

Although Zainal claimed the gathering was an informal conversation at a wedding, the video has gone viral -- showing the local Awami League leader speaking publicly with the Jamaat leader seated beside him.

Zainal, former chairman of Jaintapur Upazila Parishad, has been nominated as Jamaat's candidate for the Sylhet-4 constituency (Companiganj-Gowainghat-Jaintapur) for the upcoming 13th national election.

Speaking about Zainal's candidacy, Kala said, "Our chairman saheb [Zainal] is running for MP in the upcoming election. If he wins, our local people will finally be recognised and appreciated. Even if he loses, he will still be valued."

He continued, "Even if Jamaat doesn't win, they cannot be removed from being the opposition. New parties like the National Citizen Party have emerged, but no one knows how many seats they will actually win."

He added, "We want Jamaat to get half the votes in our area, and BNP the other half. They have suffered from repression as well and deserve a chance."

Multiple attempts to contact Kala Mia for comment were unsuccessful, as he did not respond to phone calls.

Meanwhile, Zainal said, "I had gone to a wedding in that area. There was an informal discussion with locals, where Kala Mia made those remarks. I didn't know him personally before."