Much-discussed Manna, Tarek, Meghna Alam lose deposits

In the immediate past 13^th national election, several much-talked-about candidates failed to secure enough votes to retain their deposits, exposing less popularity in their respective seats.

According to electoral law, a candidate must achieve at least 12.5% of the total valid votes cast in their constituency to retain their security deposit. For this election, each candidate was required to submit Tk50, 000 along with their nomination papers. Those who failed to meet the required vote threshold lost that amount.

In the Bogura-2 (Shibganj) constituency, Mahmudur Rahman Manna, president of Nagorik Oikya, contested with the "Kettle" symbol. Out of 243,802 valid votes cast in his constituency, he secured only 3,426 votes—about 1.4% of the total valid votes.

To retain his deposit, he needed at least 30,476 votes, leading to the loss of his deposit, as per the law.

In Dhaka-12, Md Tarek Rahman, member secretary of Amjanatar Dal, contested with the "Butterfly" symbol and received just 1,044 votes.

The total number of valid votes in the constituency was 122,268, while 2,444 ballots were declared invalid, and Tarek received fewer votes than the number of rejected ballots.

In the same constituency, Taslima Akhter, nominated by Ganosamhati Andolon and contesting with the "Mathal" symbol, got 1,511 votes and also failed to retain her deposit.

From Dhaka-8, Meghna Alam of Gono Odhikar Parishad ran with the "Truck" symbol and secured only 608 votes, far below the required threshold.

In Netrakona-4 (Madan–Mohanganj–Khaliajuri), Joly Talukdar, nominated by the CPB, contested with the "Sickle" symbol and received 3,359 votes, resulting in the loss of her deposit as well.

Meanwhile, in Chattogram-8 (Chandgaon–Boalkhali), candidates Zobairul Hasan Arif of NCP, Mohammad Nurul Alam of Islami Andolon Bangladesh, and Mohammad Emdadul Haque of Insaniyat Biplob Bangladesh also lost their deposits as no one managed to secure enough votes.

On the other hand, 57 out of 83 candidates across Cumilla 11 parliamentary seats also failed to save their deposits as they lost to their rival candidates by big margins, according to the district returning officer's office yesterday.  

Those lost the deposits are mainly from several small political parties, including AB Party, Bangladesh Republican Party, Jatiyo Party, Bangladesh Jasad, Islami Andolon Bangladesh, Islami Front Bangladesh, Amjanatar Dal, Gono Odhikar Parishad, Bangladesh Congress, Insaniyat Biplob Bangladesh, National Democratic Movement, and Khelafat Majlish, among others.

Besides, several unknown independent contenders contested the election and lost their deposits.

In the Cumilla-1, seven out of nine candidates lost their deposits, while 50% out of six candidates faced the same fate in the Cumilla-2.

In the Cumilla-3, seven out of nine contenders failed to recover their deposits, and three out of five candidates in the Cumilla-4.  

In the Cumilla-5, eight out of 10 contenders failed to secure enough votes, while seven out of nine candidates also lost the deposits in the Cumilla-6.

Two out of five candidates contesting the election from the Cumilla-7 lost their deposits, and six out of the eight contenders in the Cumilla-8.

In the Cumilla-9, six out of eight candidates faced the same fate, five candidates each in the Cumilla-10 and the Cumilla-11 also failed to secure their victory and lost deposits.

Besides, at least 20 out of 32 contesting candidates, including a former state minister, failed to secure the required votes and lost their deposits across six seats of Naogaon, an analysis of election results shows.  

In the Naogaon-1, three candidates, including three-time former lawmaker Salek Chowdhury, failed to secure the minimum votes, while an AB party candidate did not reach the required mark in the Naogaon-2.

Six candidates also lost their deposits in the Naogaon-3, and four in the Naogaon-4.

Moreover, three candidates failed to secure enough votes in the Naogaon-5, while three candidates, including former state minister Alamgir Kabir, lost the deposits in the Naogaon-6.