Anwar Hossain Manju faces first election defeat to ex-assistant Mahiuddin

Jatiya Party (JP) Chairman Anwar Hossain Manju has lost Pirojpur-2 election against independent candidate Mahiuddin Maharaj.

This marks the first time Manju has lost a national election, having previously contested seven times. 

Mohiuddin Maharaj, the district Awami League Joint General Secretary and former Zilla Parishad chairman, once served Manju as his personal assistant.

For Jatiya Party (Manju), success in national elections typically relies on the performance of its key figure, Chairman Anwar Hossain Manju, particularly in Pirojpur-2—his home constituency covering Bhandaria, Kawkhali, and Zianagar upazilas.

Since its establishment in 2001, the party has secured more than one seat only once, in 2014, during the national election boycott by major opposition parties, including the BNP.

Manju keeps his party afloat

Having been elected a member of parliament seven times since 1986, the veteran politician has served in various key ministerial roles, including energy, communication, environment, and water resources.

A son of Tofazzal Hossain Manik Mia, the founder of the Daily Ittefaq, Manju also served the vernacular daily for over three decades.

Also, he has an amazing track record with zero defeats in national polls.

Involved with Hussain Mohammad Ershad-led Jatiya Party since the early '80s, Manju broke away in 2001 when Ershad decided to join the BNP-led four-party alliance.

Ershad quit the alliance before the polls and a Jatiya Party faction led by Naziur Rahman stayed within the four-party.

In the 2001 election, Manju's JP fielded 140 candidates with the electoral symbol "bicycle." Except for Manju, all of them were defeated in the election and subsequently lost their security deposits.

In the 2008 national election, Manju did not contest. Following the crushing defeat in the previous polls, the party had fielded only seven candidates. All of them were defeated and lost their security deposits. They garnered a meagre 7,818 votes. 

In 2014, amid a mass boycott by opposition parties, the JP (Manju) fielded 28 candidates for the 10th national polls. With the support of the Awami League, Manju himself won uncontested from Pirojpur-2, and current Co-Chairman Ruhul Amin secured victory in Kurigram-4. Most of the other candidates lost their security deposits.

In the 2018 election, the party again dwindled down the number of its nominees, fielding only 11 candidates who polled some 1.84 lakh votes. Only Manju won from his home constituency, garnering over 1.79 lakh votes.