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Supporters of Mahiuddin Ahmed, member-secretary of the Munshiganj district BNP, blocked the Mukterpur Bridge for an hour and a half on Friday, demanding a change in the party’s nomination for the Munshiganj-3 (Sadar–Ghazaria) constituency.
The BNP has nominated Kamruzzaman Ratan, the party’s central social welfare secretary, for the seat, sparking widespread protests among local party activists.
From around 3:30pm, demonstrators set fire to tires and staged a sit-in on the bridge, chanting slogans against the nomination. Traffic on the Mukterpur Bridge came to a complete halt, forcing passengers to cross on foot. Long tailbacks formed on both sides, with ambulances facing severe difficulties.
After blocking road links between Munshiganj, Dhaka, and Narayanganj for 90 minutes, the protesters withdrew around 5pm, issuing a 48-hour ultimatum to reconsider the nomination. They warned of nonstop programmes on river and road routes if Mahiuddin Ahmed is not selected as the candidate.
The tension grew a day earlier after BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir formally announced Kamruzzaman Ratan’s nomination at a press briefing at the party chairperson’s office in Gulshan. Soon after, protests erupted in Munshiganj city, where party activists burned effigies of Fakhrul and Ratan and held demonstrations.
Friday’s blockade was a continuation of those protests. BNP leaders including Ataur Rahman Babul, Shahidul Islam Commissioner, Kazi Abu Sufian Biplob, VP Shahin Mia, Sayedur Rahman Fakir, Advocate Mahbubul Alam Swapon, former councillor Khorshed Alam Tapan and former Jubo Dal member-secretary Masud Rana joined the demonstration.
Protesters claimed Ratan is not locally acceptable and urged the party high command to reconsider.
Ahead of the 13th national parliamentary election, the BNP has so far announced candidates for 272 constituencies, including 36 seats revealed on Thursday.