Poor track record does not hold Bangladesh Congress from hoping for 20 JS seats

After obtaining registration as a political party in 2019, the Bangladesh Congress received 11,049 votes in the Rangpur City Corporation election in December last year.

The party also participated in several by-polls, including those in Bogura-6 and Dhaka-5, securing 3,500 and 600 votes, respectively, according to the party Chairperson Adv Kazi Rezaul Hossain.

Despite these modest results, the party fielded 116 candidates in its debut 12th national election, aspiring to win 20 seats.

In terms of fielding candidates, the party took the sixth position among the major political entities in the 7 January national elections.

"If the election is conducted fairly, we anticipate winning 20 seats. Additionally, our party symbol, the 'green coconut' will gain popularity among the people through active participation in the election," said the party chairperson.

Meanwhile, the party wrote to the chief election commissioner (CEC), calling for pushing back the 30 November deadline for submitting nomination forms.

The letter stated, "The Bangladesh Congress party is willing to participate in the upcoming 12th national election with the "green coconut" symbol in all 300 seats.

It said, "Candidates have been finalised for all seats. However, due to bureaucratic delays, some candidates have not received the income tax payment documents as of yet. It will take about three more working days to receive the documents."

However, the time was not extended.

Adv Kazi Rezaul Hossain, who contested the 11th election as an independent candidate from Magura-1 constituency with the "lion" symbol, told TBS that he cannot recall the number of votes he received in the national election.

Explaining the poor performance in the by-polls, Rezaul Hossain said, "None but the ruling party ran in the polls, resulting in low voter turnout. Moreover, we couldn't even campaign heavily."

He said, "We submitted the names of 24,000 members to the Election Commission during party registration. After getting the registration, we have formed committees in various districts. Now we have organisational strength."

Rezaul Hossain submitted his nomination forms for Magura 1 and 2 seats, with Shakib Al Hasan appearing as his Awami League contender in the first seat.

"During a dialogue, the Election Commission assured us that the polls would be completely fair, impartial, and acceptable," said the party chairperson, expressing his hope to win 20 seats in the upcoming election.

Established in 2013 as a political party, Bangladesh Congress's introduction on its website mentions that Adv Kazi Rezaul Hossain was previously involved in Awami League politics. After being inactive for a long time, he formed the Bangladesh Congress party. He is from the Sreepur Thana area in Magura.

Regarding participation in the national election, Rezaul Hossain said, "Bangladesh Congress is a new party, and we need to be introduced.

"People know the BNP's symbol even though the party is not running in the election. Through this election, people in 116 regions will learn about our symbol. If you don't promote the 'green coconut' symbol, people won't know about it. The symbol will gain familiarity through the elections."

He also said, "Those who did not participate in the election are handling their own business, and not everything is saved by fighting all the time."